Under Different Circumstances - On HIATUS
by peacenotwar93
Summary: Set after Frostbite - Rose & her friends decide to leave the Academy after Mason's death, not believing in the system St. Vlad teaches anymore. They head to Russia where they meet a group of unpromised Strigoi hunters. Chaos ensues. Lissa does not exist. UP FOR ADOPTION, PM me if you're interested.
1. Chapter 1: Memories

**Authors note:**

**Hi everyone, so this will be my third fan fiction and I never finished my other two.. I guess I just got distracted and kind of lost interest in those stories but I promise it won't be like that for this one. I am really passionate about this story and I have loads of free time so I will try and write new chapters as often as I can. I would love to read your reviews about this chapter. I really want to know what you think about the changes. :) **

**Okayy so this story is a bit different from the traditional VA storyline. It is set after frost-bite.. Yes the whole Spokane thing happened and yes Mason did die but Lissa's character doesn't exist, which means Rose isn't bonded to anyone, therefore she is not shadow-kissed. I'm not sure whether or not I am going to bring Lissa into the story later on, we'll see how it goes. Also you will notice that Dimitri wasn't mentioned in this chapter. He may or may not come into the story, I'll leave that as a surprise. :) I hope you all enjoy the first chapter and I hope to read plenty of reviews! :) - Raechel**

Under Different Circumstances

**Chapter One:**

_I couldn't move. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound escaped from my lips. I was helpless, unable to protect my best friend from being killed. The Strigoi had Mason by his neck. I was trying to run towards them and even though my legs were moving, I wasn't getting any closer to the horrific sight that was taking place in front of me. Then all of a sudden there was a deafening cracking sound emanating from Mason's neck, his eyes widened in disbelief, going blank. The Strigoi dropped him and his body went slack. He was dead. My best friend was dead. And I was still stuck in place, unable to make a sound. I looked up at the Strigoi who was standing over Mason's body with a disturbing smile plastered onto his pale face. His red-ringed pupils standing out more than usual. He looked up at me and said in his most menacing voice, "I'm coming for you next sweet Rose."_

I jerked up in bed, gasping for air. My hands gripping at the empty space in front of me. My lungs were on fire, I could hardly breath. You would think that after having this same nightmare every night since Mason was killed, I would've gotten used to it, but every night it was the same thing, I woke up as if experiencing Mason's death for the first time all over again. My shirt was soaked from all the sweat, tears were streaming down my face uncontrollably and my heart was pounding at what felt like a million beats per second. I needed to calm my heart down or I was surely to go into cardiac arrest.

"One... Two... Three... Four... Five..." I counted aloud through gasps and sniffles. And then, just like that my heart-rate had slowed to a reasonable pace and I had stopped myself from crying. Counting to five was, I guess, my own little coping mechanism. When ever I was overwhelmed by emotion, not being able to control myself, I would close my eyes and, out loud, count to five. I know it doesn't seem like a full-proof method, but it always worked, without fail.

I pulled myself upright so that my back was against the head of my bed and started looking around my room, remembering all of the memories from my past. My room was a generic looking square, the type you would find in any dorm room I guess – cream coloured walls, a built in wardrobe and a small bathroom that extended out from the bedroom. The only sign that someone was even living there was the picture on my bed-side table of me with Eddie and Mason. We used to call ourselves the three musketeers, always looking for trouble and getting into mischief. It's funny, I didn't have many girl friends, only Mia. I mostly only stuck with the guys. Probably because I felt more like myself when I was around them than I did with any other girl. After Mason was killed, it took Eddie and I a little while to get back to how we used to be. We needed to deal with the fact that from now on it was just the two of us, we needed to cope with Mason's death in our own way.

I glanced at the clock sitting next to my bed and groaned when I saw that it was 4:35am in the morning, meaning 4:35pm in the afternoon for humans. But me and my school mates were far from human. Living on a nocturnal schedule sometimes took it's toll on me, I loved the sun and not being able to bask in the sunlight every day kind of sucked. The sun would still be out at this time so I decided that seeming as I would've woken up at 5:30am anyway, I may as well get out of bed now and make the most of what was left of the sunlight. I quickly changed into my work out shorts, sports bra and running shoes. I loved running, in fact, I loved all exercise. As a Dhampir, from birth I was blessed with heightened senses as well as strength and endurance. I didn't have to train as much as I did, but I wasn't allowed much of a social life, so exercise was kind of my substitute.

As I walked out of my dorm and into the fresh air, I welcomed the cool breeze that enveloped me. I looked up at the bright sky and for a few minutes I just stood there allowing the sunlight to prickle my skin from the warmth. I then continued walking over towards the running track, stretching out my body before I took my place at the start line. I then mentally counted down from three while I got into a comfortable start position. As soon as I hit number one, I was off. To any human it would've looked like I was sprinting at an incredibly fast pace, but for me, that was just a warm up to loosen my muscles.

After running for about thirty minutes, I made my way into the gym where I lifted weights for another hour, then I went to work on the punching bag. Pulling out round house kicks, spinning side kicks, Elbow strikes and several more offensive strikes. I was the best of all the students at St Vladimir's Academy. I don't say that to sound cocky, I say it because it's the truth. I was a female Dhampir and yet I was stronger then all of the guys in my grade, with the exception of Eddie, of course. After beating the punching bag to a pulp for about another thirty minutes, I decided to go back to my room, have a shower and get ready for classes, which started at 8am.

As I hopped in the shower, I involuntarily started thinking of Mason again. It had been two and a half months since his death and it still haunted me every night. About a week after he died I had made the decision to leave the Academy. I no longer believed in our schools motto that _'they come first'_. They meaning the Moroi. The good Vampires that went to the Academy alongside the Dhampirs. Of course they didn't train like we did, they mostly learnt about their history and how Dhampirs became their protection, their Guardians. It wasn't always like this. It was said that a long time ago Moroi fought alongside the Guardians, taking the fight to the Strigoi rather than laying in wait for them to attack us. Somewhere along the line, Moroi got it into their heads that they were too important to risk their own lives, but not the Dhampirs. They were expendable. We became their _shields_. More like their slaves. I used to believe in the cause, I used to think becoming a Guardian would be a great honour. That all changed after Mason died. When I had gotten back to the Academy, the first question that I was asked was, "Oh god, are both of the Moroi alive?" Not _Are you okay? _Or _I'm so sorry about your friend! _They didn't care about us. All they cared about were themselves. And I was damned if I'd willingly lay my life out for them.

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><p>It was lunch time and I was sitting at a table with Eddie, Christian and Mia. We had all become pretty damn close since we were kidnapped and held captive in Spokane. We never really talked about it but it hung over all of our heads. My respect for both Christian and Mia had grown a lot while escaping, because instead of running into the sunlight to save themselves, they stayed with Eddie, Mason and I to fight. Of course physically they weren't very apt for it but they used their magic to distract and ward off the Strigoi. If it weren't for the both of them, I would most likely be dead as well.<p>

I was in the process of scoffing down a dozen original glazed doughnuts from Krispy Kreme when Christian, snarky as ever, had to comment on my odd obsession with those masterpieces. "My god, Rose. Slow down would you! If you eat any more of those things, you'll turn into a doughnut truck, and then you'll start eating yourself because you taste so good!" We all started laughing at that. Even if his comment hadn't made much sense, it immediately lightened the mood.

"How can you not see how deliciously seductive doughnuts are, Christian? I just can't understand you." I said, faking exasperation. The conversation stayed light and playful throughout lunch and the rest of the day floated by quickly without interruption.

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><p>Classes had ended for the day and seeing as though my friends and I hadn't made any plans to hang out that afternoon, I decided to go for a walk. Surrounding the Academy was thick forest and the boundaries of the wards stretched around most of it. I always loved how much space there was to just explore. Although it was pitch black outside, the moon lit up enough of the grounds for my heightened eyesight to pick up more then enough light to see where I was going. I walked aimlessly for a while just thinking about what I would do and where I would go after I left the Academy. I also thought about how I would tell my friends that I was leaving. I hated the idea of leaving them, but I knew I couldn't stay in that place. After Spokane, Headmistress Kirova had approved of me having my own silver stake. She knew there was no way I would take no for an answer after what happened. My silver stake looked the same as all the other Guardians on campus, but I had it inscribed along the blade – <em>'Property of Rose Hathaway – To remember the Dhampirs who have protected, fought and fallen in order for our race to survive.' <em>I smiled at the thought of actually having some kind of protection when I left the Academy. I hated to think about what I would do without a silver stake.

I had sat down under a tree just at the forest line, tilting my head back and closing my eyes. I hadn't felt so relaxed in quite a while. I was a naturally tense person so feeling this free was... nice.

"Out for a midnight stroll, little Dhampir?" The all too familiar voice questioned. I had only met Adrian not long ago at the ski lodge but he had, to my distaste, taken it upon himself to flirt endlessly with me, to the point of it becoming inappropriate. To be honest I didn't mind the attention he paid me, it was fun to flirt back every now and then.

"Well technically I'm sitting, not strolling. So you'd be wrong, but hey, what else is new?" I smirked cheekily up at him. He took my smile as an invitation to have a seat. I didn't protest. He began pulling out a cigarette as if by habit and looked over at me while I shot him a warning glare. I despised him smoking, especially in front of me.

"Alright, alright fine. I'll do the gentlemanly thing and not smoke around you. Do I get a reward for being so chivalrous?" He teased, although behind his teasing tone there was a hint of genuine hope that I would oblige.

"Yeah, you get to not be punched in the face for having such a disgusting habit. You know they'll kill you. Maybe not in the near future, but they will." Although I didn't want to sound like an over-protective teacher with my zen life lessons, I hated seeing Adrian do that to himself. The alcohol and the smoking, all it was doing was hurting him. As much as I hated admitting it, because he was so arrogant, I was actually attracted to Adrian. He was, after all, very handsome and he could be awfully charming. He always had scruffy brown hair that looked like it was styled just to look messy. He had soft green eyes that knew where and how to look at you to make you blush. Most of the time he would have a cheeky smirk securely in place, but on the rare occasion I actually got to see a genuine smile. I would only ever see it when I would say something that surprised him, usually it would be some resemblance of a compliment I would pay him.

"Yes, little Dhampir, so you keep saying. Maybe I'll give them up one day... But only for you of course." He smirked once more. We sat together for a while longer, talking, flirting and laughing together as if we were good friends. I liked having those kind of moments with Adrian and I would surely miss them once I was gone.


	2. Chapter 2: Decisions

**Authors Note:**

**Hi all, so I haven't gotten any reviews for my last chapter but I still wanted to publish the next chapter. :) I am writing the chapters as I go along so I'm not entirely sure where the story is headed. I just know little things that I want to happen to the characters and where I want them to end up. But things in between all of that just kind of come out as I am typing up each chapter. I would really love to know what you think of the story because it is a fair bit different from the original VA storyline. Although it is set after Frostbite they are all 18 and were only a few months away from graduating from ST Vlad's and becoming Guardians so yeah.. :) If certain things aren't the same as the book, review and ask me about it, because it may be intentional or it may be a mistake, so that if it is a mistake I can fix it. :) Also I would appreciate if you could let me know about any spelling or punctuation mistakes that I have missed.. I like things to be correct that's why I proof read everything like a million times before I publish them! :) Sorry for the long and boring Authors note. :D - Raechel :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two:<strong>

I was working out in the gym, yet again, trying to dissolve my pent up frustration at the nightmare that had once again crept itself into my mind last night. I had woken up with a sickly feeling in my stomach, like a ball of darkness and anger that wouldn't dissipate. After my workout, however, it had disappeared completely, much to my liking. It was 6am and I still had two hours before classes started, so I decided to go the the Academy's library. I knew that in order to leave the Academy, I would have to fill out a specific form, giving myself permission to drop out before graduating. I was Eighteen after all. I no longer needed parental consent for any of my decision making, not that I would've even been able to get it, considering that I hardly ever saw my mother. Janine Hathaway and I never had a real mother-daughter relationship, I always resented her for abandoning me, but lately we had actually come to a sort of understanding. I didn't dare think about how she would react to my leaving St Vlad's.

After rummaging through book after book, I finally found the one I was looking for. It was a book of forms, forms for everything. Permission slips for excursions, injury and incident forms and sick leave forms. I shuffled through the pages trying to find the one form I actually needed. After several minutes, I came across the form that read _'Permission of leave form'_. It wasn't anything fancy, it was basically a form that students filled out if they were going away for a while and needed permission to be able to stop studying for that period of time. It was the only form that came close to what I needed. The only difference was that I wouldn't be returning to complete my studies. I walked over to the photo-copier, book in hand and made five copies of the form, just to be safe. I wanted them to know that I was 100% serious about leaving.

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><p>Classes had ended and Eddie, Christian, Mia and I decided to hang out in the courtyard. We weren't doing much, just mucking around acting like idiots like we usually did. I hadn't even realised that the leave forms had been sticking out of my bag until Christian snatched them up and exclaimed, "What the hell is this, Hathaway?" Everyone's attention was now on Christian and what on Earth he could be talking about.<p>

"Christian stop, that's none of your business!" I yelled back at him. I wasn't ready to have that conversation with my friends. Not yet.

"None of my business? It's all of our business, Rose.. Since when are you leaving the Academy? For how long? Where are you going? And what about graduation?" Question after question he flew at me and I didn't really know how to answer him. I had planned on talking to each of my friends separately. Not with all of them looking at me with hurt, confused expressions. In the end, I decided there really was no avoiding there curious stares and questions. I let out a deep sigh and told them what I was planning on doing.

"Look, this wasn't exactly the way I was hoping you guys would find out, but what ever. I'm leaving the Academy... For good, as in I'm not coming back to graduate. I don't want to graduate anymore. I don't want to become a Guardian for those people. After Mason's... After what happened, I just don't think I can go on to defend the people that didn't give a shit about my best friend. I'm really sorry I haven't told any of you, I didn't really know how to." I was almost out of breath, I had talked so quickly. All of my friends just looked at me, dumbfounded. They were all trying to process what I had said.

"Rose... You can't just up and leave, there is no way the school would allow it." Eddie replied, trying to be considerate and reasonable. I could tell it was killing him that I wanted to leave.

"I'm Eighteen, Eddie. They can't force me to stay, if I hand them the form, signed and all, they won't have a choice." Eddie looked back at me with a defeated expression, he knew I was right.

"But what about us?" Mia asked, upset. "You can't just leave us, we're your friends, Rose." Mia was on the verge of either crying or yelling. I couldn't tell which.

"I know, but I have been thinking about this for the last two months. I've been fighting with myself trying to decide what the right thing to do is and to be honest, I still don't know what that is. I can't stay here and become a Guardian who doesn't believe in what she's doing. I would become a liability. Leaving you is not something I've taken lightly, I love you guys. But I need to do this... For me." Tears started forming in my eyes as I took in the gutted looks on my friends faces. What I didn't expect to hear, was what came out of Christian Ozera's mouth.

"Well then I'm coming with you." He stated matter-of-factly. I looked at him, shocked.

"Christian, I can't let you do that. We will be outside the wards, with next to no protection. I'll only have one stake, I can't protect you from whats out there."

"Rose, if there is anyone I would trust with my life out in the real world, it would be either you or Eddie, you guys are the best Guardians in this place, and you aren't even technically Guardians yet. I'm not letting you go out there on your own. Plus, you know I have been training. I know how to handle myself and how to use my magic to fight. I can look after myself. I won't take no for an answer, I'm coming with you and that's that." Christian said with a defiant tone. He was just as stubborn as I could be, which is why I knew fighting him on this would be pointless. I sighed and nodded at him before handing him one of the forms. He had a huge grin on his face, I think he was mainly happy to get out of that place, he hated it just as much as I did.

Mia and Eddie glanced at each other, not knowing what to do. I saw the decision being made in their eyes, they were coming with me as well. I smiled at my friends and handed them each a form as well. They took it without hesitation and we all started filling out our forms.

"Not that I'm having second thoughts or anything, but where exactly are we going to go.. And what are we going to do?" Eddie asked questionably. Always the organised and responsible one he was.

"Well, I had heard about a group of Dhampirs in Siberia that weren't 'promised' but were still killing Strigoi. They hunt them actually, taking the fight to them. That's where I was planning on going when I left, but now that you guys are coming with me, we don't have to. It was kind of far-fetched anyway." I looked at their faces and knew that they would want to do exactly what I had just told them I would've done.

"Well that sounds good to me," Christian chimed in. "So when exactly are we leaving? Today? Tomorrow? Next week?" Christian was joking around but I could tell they were all curious as to when we would walk out the Academy's gates forever.

"We leave tomorrow morning before classes start. So tonight, pack your things. But only the necessities." I held my gaze with Mia, knowing that she would want to take every nick-nack she ever bought. We wouldn't have room for all of that. My friends nodded in agreement and before we parted ways to go say goodbye to our lives at St Vlad's, I told them to meet outside the administration building at 7am.

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><p>I took one last look around the room I knew as my only home and started walking out towards the administration building. Eddie caught up to me and matched my pace as we walked in silence together. I don't think either of us knew what to say. All he did was take my hand in his and give it a reassuring squeeze. I squeezed back as I realised just how amazing Eddie was. I never could've asked for a better friend in my life. When we got to the building Christian and Mia were already there. Christian looked excited where as Mia looked like a nervous wreck.<p>

"Are you sure you guys want to do this? This is your last chance to back out." I told my friends.

Mia walked up to me, putting her arms around me, giving me a hug as she whispered into my ear, "We're with you. No matter what." I was touched by her determination and her kindness, I really did have the best friends a girl could hope for.

We walked in to the building and up to the desk where a woman sat typing away at her computer. She noticed us walk in and eyed us wearily. She recognized all of us, me especially. We all handed her our forms and stood quietly as she read over them, a shocked expression grew on her face as she went through them. She looked up at us, still bewildered.

"What is this?" She asked abruptly. I merely smiled at her.

"We are all dropping out of St Vladimir's Academy. We are all Eighteen and have filled out the necessary forms. I'm sorry, but you can't really stop us." I wasn't sorry at all. I was determined. The lady knew she had no choice.

"I think I should call the Headmistress. Wait here please." We sat down and waited patiently as asked and a few minutes later Headmistress Kirova walked in. She looked angry.

"Rose, what is the meaning of this?"

"Good morning Headmistress. Me and my friends are dropping out. So if you don't mind, can we please get this sorted?" I wasn't giving in to her intimidating look, I was on a mission and I'd be damned if I was going to give up now. Kirova looked down at me with a cautious expression on her face. She took a look at my friends and turned her attention back to me.

"You're forcing them into leaving as well? They don't have to follow you where ever you go! Why would you do this, Rose?" Kirova wasn't yelling, but she was raising her voice to an authoritative tone. Before I could even speak I was cut off by Eddie.

"Excuse me, Headmistress. But Christian, Mia and I have minds of our own. We chose to leave of our own accord. Rose didn't force us into anything. If anything she didn't want us to come with her because she was afraid for our safety. Look, I understand that this is a bit confusing, but you can't understand why we are doing this, so I'm not going to try and explain it. We simply don't want, nor do we have to, be here anymore. We aren't breaking any rules and we are doing this the legal way, so can you please just process our forms so we can leave?" Kirova was a little shocked at Eddie's statement, as was I. He sounded like an adult, rather then the boy I grew up with.

"Do your families know about this?" Kirova was grasping at straws now. She was desperate.

"With all do respect, Headmistress. It's not their business anymore. We are all Eighteen. It is our decision and our parents opinions won't change that." Christian was trying very hard to not sound frustrated but he wanted to get the hell out of there. His patience was wearing thin. Kirova reluctantly agreed as she nodded to the receptionist to process our paperwork. After the receptionist signed and stamped different forms for us, she told us to show them to the Guardians at the front gate when we left. She glared at us all with a disapproving look as we walked out the door.

When we handed the paperwork to the Guardians at the gate they looked at us in disbelief. They knew they didn't have a say in the matter so they opened the gates for us. The four of us walked out those gates for the last time and started our way down the long road. I forced myself not to look back.


	3. Chapter 3: Life's Too Short

**Authors note:**

**Okayy so this chapter is longer then the other ones which I hope you'll be happy about. So I really hope you like this chapter because I happen to love it! :) Now for all the Dimitri lovers, I know you may hate me for this chapter but please bare with me here. :) I read through this chapter and I'm pretty sure I fixed up all of the spelling mistakes etc. I hope you like this chapter and I would love to hear what you guys think.. Bad or good criticism, I don't care as long as it's constructive. :) Please review and enjoy! - Raechel :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three:<strong>

It had been two years since me and my friends left St Vlad's and now we were a part of a Strigoi hunting team. It consisted of Eddie, Christian, Mia, myself as well as a girl named Tamara, and three guys, Lev, Artur and Denis.

When we first arrived in Baia – a small town in Siberia – the first thing we decided to do was find a place to stay. It didn't take us long to find a vacant apartment to live in. We didn't have to worry about money because both Christian and I were well off. The others had kind of turned to me to tell them what to do, considering I was the one with the plan. Instead of seeking out the team of Strigoi hunters I thought it would be best to train up Mia and Christian a little more. They had been training back at the Academy, but no where near enough so that they would be able to fight against Strigoi. Although they were able to use their magic in ways that I didn't think was possible. So for several weeks that's how it went, Eddie and I trained Mia and Christian physically for the first half of the day and both Mia and Christian would spar against each other, using their magic, for the second half of the day while Eddie and I sparred against each other as well.

_**~Flashback~**_

"_Rose, we've been training non-stop for three weeks. Please, can we find this team of Strigoi killers already? I am starting to loathe the inside of this apartment. We're ready.. Okay, ready as we'll ever be." Christian whined. I glared at him with an exasperated expression and then sighed. He was right, they were ready. _

"_Fine, but you do exactly as I say and don't do anything stupid! The only way we are going to find this team is if we go out searching for Strigoi ourselves... Tonight." The group looked at me a little surprised. I guess they hadn't thought of how we'd find the other team. They all nodded in compliance without hesitation. I guess I really was their leader. _

_A few hours later..._

_I had come up with a plan, we would stake out nightclubs in the hope that Strigoi would be doing the same thing, searching for their next meal. It wasn't exactly a fool proof plan, but it was the only one we had. I would be the bait, so to speak. I would be dressed to look good... Really good, so that it would be me to catch a Strigoi's eye and not a human. After going through just about every item of clothing I had, I finally landed on the perfect outfit. I wore a red and black lacy bra underneath a white silk fitted blouse, showing off my ample cleavage, with black skinny jeans and a pair of hot black heels. I decided to wear a black leather jacket over the blouse, knowing that I needed something to conceal my stake. It wasn't exactly the most practical clothing I could wear to fight Strigoi with, but hey, I had to get their attention some how. _

_As I walked out of my bedroom, dressed and ready to go I got to see what everyone else had decided to wear. I told them we had to blend in with the clubbing scene. Christian and Eddie were both wearing suit pants with comfortable dress shoes, and nice collared shirts. They both decided against wearing ties and just kept the top button of their shirts undone. They looked pretty damn fine if you ask me. Eddie especially. I looked at Mia and I was shocked to see how much of a woman she looked like. I had always thought of her as looking very young and youthful, but with the tight fitting red silk dress she was wearing, falling a little above her knees with a scooping neckline, showing off the little cleavage she did have, she looked stunning. When the guys looked up to see me, their testosterone flared and they couldn't stop their eyes from wondering down my body and back up, even they couldn't deny that I looked good. I had told Mia that we couldn't wear jewelry because it could be used against us in a fight, so we substituted jewelry with makeup. It wasn't like we piled in on or anything, we only wore enough that would make heads turn. _

_Thirty minutes later..._

_Standing outside of the club, I spoke into the earpieces me and my three friends had been wearing, telling them to stay close and stay alert. _

_We walked into the club which was about two blocks away from our apartment, surprisingly the nightlife in Baia was very exciting. I had walked in with Mia alone as the boys followed in on their own, as not to draw attention to ourselves. I walked up to the bar with Mia and ordered a drink for each of us. I had learned Russian before coming here, knowing I would need it. I was almost fluent in the language now._

**"**_**Я возьму один тоник водки и космополитической спасибо."** (I'll take one vodka tonic and a cosmopolitan thanks.) The bartender winked at me as he went to make our drinks, he was cute but I needed to stay focused. As I took a sip of my drink I subtly scanned the crowd in search of Strigoi, I was able to make it look like I was searching for attractive men, which there were a multitude of I might add. A few of them caught me looking at them, some smirked and some winked but I took no notice in there visual advances, as I was looking for something a lot darker. As I was about to give up on this club I noticed a man standing over to the side of the club, close to the back exit. There was something very stoic about the way he stood and I knew right away that he didn't fit in with the crowd. He was Strigoi. _

"_I've got one. Over the left hand side of the club, my 9 O' Clock, near the back exit." I spoke softly into the earpiece. _

"_Go do your thing, Rose. We've got your back." Eddie spoke reassuringly into my ear. My hope was that in finding a Strigoi at a nightclub we might eventually stumble across the Strigoi hunting team we were hoping to join. The chances of running into them were slim to none, but it really was the only option we had. _

_I slowly made my way over to where the Strigoi was standing, walking with a slight stumble to make it look like I was a little tipsy. I sat down at a bar stool that was mere metres away from the Strigoi and I started feeling nauseous just being near him. From the corner of my eye I saw that the Strigoi had noticed me, looking me up and down before deciding whether I would be his next meal or not. I saw a slight smirk pull at his face as he watched me. He probably thought I was some helpless human who would be dead in the next ten minutes. He sauntered slowly over to me and to anyone else it would look like a normal walk but to me, it was more like a predator moving in on its prey. _

**"_Что хорошенькая, как вы делаете в таком месте__?__" _**_(What's a pretty little thing like you doing at a place like this?)__ I didn't skip the fact that he called me a thing. To him I was nothing but a warm blood bag. I buried my disgust as I replied back to him in perfect Russian._

**"_Может быть, я ищу немного развлечься. Хотели бы вы помочь мне ее найти__?_**_**"** __(Maybe I'm looking for a little fun. Would You like to help me find it?)__ I gave him the best man-eating smile I could muster without gagging. It seemed to have worked because his eyes glistened as he took my hand and led me out the back entrance which led into a dark, quiet alley way. The perfect place for him to feed on me. _

**"_Как тебя зовут__?__" _**_(What is your name?)__ He asked me in a smooth and sensual voice. I was a little surprised at how charming he was actually being. I honestly didn't think he would even want to know my name but here he was, asking me in his thick Russian accent. If he hadn't been a Strigoi I actually would have been attracted to this guy. He was tall, muscular with short brown hair and deep brown eyes. All features which were contradicted by his cold, pallor complexion and his red-ringed pupils. _

**"_Меня зовут Елена. А тебя__?__" _**_(My name is Elena. And yours?)__ I thought it best not to give him my real name, just to be on the safe side. Surprisingly he smiled a genuine smile as he pulled me closer and I could tell he was taking in my scent. He didn't bother telling me his name, I guess he didn't think there was any point to it. I shivered at his cold touch, he must have thought I was aroused because he pulled back to look at my face and then lifted my lips to his. Much to my surprise the kiss started off gentle, soon turning into something a lot more. I hated the idea of kissing him, but I knew I had to play along so I began kissing him back, with just as much urgency as his. I needed him to think I wanted him. He abruptly pushed me hard against the wall of the building, although never pulling his lips away from mine. For a human, being pushed so hard would have hurt a little but not for me. I knotted one arm in his hair as I placed the other under the back of his shirt. He continued kissing me, then kissing just under my ear, leaving a trail of kisses from there to the base of my neck. If it weren't for the fact that he was a Strigoi, I would've been seriously turned on right about now but the nausea that had plagued me before hadn't lessened. He moved his hands, sliding one under the front of my top, so that his skin was touching mine and he placed the other behind my neck, arching my head so he had a better angle to the veins in my neck. _

_I felt his fangs graze against my skin and just as he was about to sink his fangs in I kneed him in the gut and used an elbow strike to knock him back, releasing his grip on me. I then swiftly pulled my silver stake out from the holster under my jacket. The Strigoi stumbled back in shock, he hadn't expected me to fight back, giving me the element of surprise, giving me the advantage. He looked up and saw the stake and his expression turned into a cold, deathly glare. He growled at me, bearing his fangs and all. Now he looked more like a Strigoi. We stood their staring at each other for a long moment until he spoke._

**"_Вы не должны были приходить только маленькая девочка__.__" _**_(You shouldn't have come alone little girl)__ He was calling me little girl? Oh he was in for it now. _

**"_Что заставляет вас думать, я пришел один, старик__?__" _**_(What makes you think I came alone, old man?)__ I could tell by the way he moved that he wasn't a young Strigoi. I was sure he would be a skilled opponent in a one-on-one fight, which this was not. And as I said those words, my three friends appeared out of nowhere, as if they had been hiding in the darkness the whole time. Eddie had his stake out and ready. He had brought it with him after we left the Academy, if Kirova approved of me having a stake she was definitely going to approve Eddie having one. Mia and Christian didn't have any weapons, but they did have their magic, which was weapon enough. They stood in a defensive stance, ready to attack. _

_**~End of flashback~**_

We had finished that Strigoi off in a matter of minutes. It wasn't difficult when there were four of us and only one of him. We continued our routine of going to nightclubs, looking for Strigoi. It wasn't for another couple of weeks until we ran into Lev and his team. They had been staking out the same club as us and as I had been the bait again, they thought I was just a human. What they hadn't expected was for me to pull out a stake and for my team to pop out of nowhere and start fighting with them as they attacked the Strigoi. It was easy for them to let us into their team, for they had seen us fight and seen what we were capable of. Plus, they knew that the more numbers they had, the more we would achieve. After two years of fighting side by side, we had become a sort of family. Always looking out for each other and having each others backs in any fight.

After hunting and killing Strigoi for two years, the back of my neck was covered in _Molnija_ marks. We had all continued getting the tattoos after each kill and now after all this time, the marks needed to start being tattooed on my back. I had lost count of how many Strigoi I had killed. I didn't really want to know the number to be honest. I could remember every one of their faces. Even though I hadn't known any of their names, their faces still haunted me. They were Strigoi – monsters – I knew that, but they were once either human, Moroi or Dhampirs before turning. It was a sad fact, but that was the reality of it. They were all once partly human if not completely. It hurt knowing that most had willingly turned for immortality. On the rare occasion, after staking a Strigoi, I would notice that their expressions would change, not into pain on anger but.. Peace. I was giving them that peace.

* * *

><p>Six of us had just gotten back from a long night of Strigoi killing and were so exhausted that we all went straight for the couches as soon we walked in the door. Mia and Tamara had stayed behind tonight, they had cooked for us and we were all definitely hungry. There were eight of us all together, but we never needed that many to fight, so every night two people would stay home and cook for the others. We took turns at who would stay and who would go. I always went with the fighting group, though, as they had sort of nominated me as their leader. I didn't really mind and neither did they. They knew they could trust me with their lives and that I would never lead them astray.<p>

"That smells delicious, babe." Christian stated as he sauntered over to wear Mia stood and gave her a big kiss, not caring that there were several other people in the room. They had been together since a little after we moved in to this apartment with the other guys. Eddie and I hadn't minded, we knew they were interested in each other. It was just a matter of time. Eddie took a seat next to me, placing his hand in mine and for the millionth time that night, he asked if I was okay.

"Yes, Eddie. I'm fine. Still a little queezy, but that will pass. I just hate being so close to the Strigoi." Eddie looked at me with a worried look on his face.

"You know, you don't always have to be the bait, both Mia and Tamara are more then willing to do it." I looked back at Eddie incredulously. He knew me too well to know I would ever let them do something like that. He was just always worrying about me.

"Eddie, you know that will never happen. I would never allow myself to put them into that kind of situation. It's way too dangerous for them to be that close to a Strigoi. I would never forgive myself if something ever happened to them." He still looked unsure so I laced my fingers through his and pulled his face to mine, kissing him slowly. After pulling away I could see that I had diffused his frustration, but only a little.

"I just hate seeing you make out with all those Strigoi. I know a lot of the time they just go straight for the neck, not bothering to kiss you, but still. I can't stand the way they look at you, like your nothing but a play thing for them to eat. And you probably don't see it, but a lot of them were genuinely attracted to you, hence the kissing. You don't know the effect you have on men. Strigoi included. I just... I just don't like it." Eddie exclaimed, exasperated. I loved him for caring so much. I placed my free hand on the side of his face reassuring him that I was still here, still alive and that, that was all that mattered. He smiled tentatively at me, as if he still wasn't convinced.

I stood up, my fingers still intertwined with Eddies and pulled him towards our bedroom. We had gotten together a few months after Christian and Mia had and we'd been together ever since. I had always had feelings for Eddie and him me, but Mason had also been interested in me, which is what stopped Eddie and I from getting together. Even after Mason died. We both felt guilty. But after moving to Russia, we realised that life was too short and that at any moment we could slip up and get killed, so we didn't want to waste any time anymore. As we walked into our bedroom, Eddie closed the door behind him and immediately pulled me into his body, kissing me with as much urgency as he could muster. He really wasn't a patient one. I chuckled against his lips, which caused him to pull back and look down at me with a confused expression.

"You really are impatient aren't you?" I asked while still chuckling. He gave me a crooked smirk that sent my heart into over-drive. He did crazy things to my body, just by looking at me.

"I don't want to waste one second by being apart from you. Promise me, Rose. Promise you'll never let yourself be taken away from me. I love you." It was the first time Eddie had told me that he loved me and I was elated. The feeling I had could only be described as pure bliss.

"I love you, Eddie. And I promise. Do you?" I didn't have to elaborate because he knew exactly what I was asking.

"I promise, Rose." With that, Eddie lifted me into his arms and pushed me up against the back of the door as he continued kissing me. Eddie was taller and stronger then me, not by much but he would definitely win in a fight between the both of us. He was muscular all over. I never thought anyone would ever compare to how painstakingly gorgeous he was, with his tussled dark brown hair and his hazel green eyes. I could swim in those eyes.

As he continued kissing me, with as much passion as I could imagine, he placed me back on my feet so he could relieve himself of his shirt and me of mine. He let out a slight growl when he saw me in my bra. Seeing me had the same reaction on him as he did on me. I started, clumsily, undoing the button and zipper on his pants as he removed my skirt. We kicked our shoes off and before I knew it, we were in our underwear getting pretty hot and heavy. We hadn't had sex yet, because I never felt ready and he never pushed the matter. But tonight, I was ready. I knew exactly how far I wanted to go with him and I wanted him to know it.

He lifted me into his arms once more as I wrapped my legs around his waist, moving us over to the bed, gently dropping me on my back, hovering over me so that I could get a look at his amazing body. "Are you sure about this?" He asked before I grabbed onto his neck and pulled him down on top of me as we started kissing again. I couldn't help but let out a slight moan as his body pressed against mine. He smiled against my lips as he slowly made a trail of kisses from just under my ear to the base of my neck, sending shivers all over my body. His hands, one squeezing onto my hip, pulling my body closer to his while the other, trailing up my thigh slightly digging in. It didn't hurt at all, it felt like heaven. Like I would melt into his touch. I moved us over so that I was now on top, straddling him.

He knotted one hand in my hair, pulling my lips to his, while the other was still firmly in place on my hip. Our bodies began moving as one and while my hands were free I un-clipped my bra and tossed it onto the floor. Eddie pulled back and when he saw that I know longer had my bra on, the look on his face was pure adoration mixed in with love, lust, passion but most of all, hunger. He had been wanting this for so long. I was so happy that Dhampirs couldn't have children together because if we had to stop and worry about wearing a condom, it would have seriously killed the mood. But luckily there was no need to stop and at that point stopping was the last thing on our minds. My mind turned to mush as the remainder of our underwear was practically ripped off and we came together as one. I had always thought that I would be all nervous the first time I had sex, but being with Eddie now.. Nerves were thrown right out the window.

* * *

><p>"Oh my God.." I gasped as Eddie and I lay next to each other on the bed. We were both out of breathe with huge grins on our faces. "That was..." I continued but my sentence was finished by the amazing man lying next to me, panting just as much as me.<p>

"Amazing.." We looked at each other and he pulled me into his body so that we were now facing each other. He stroked my face lightly with his fingers as he tucked loose strands of my hair back behind my ear. "God you're beautiful." He said more to himself then to me. I just smiled and rested my head at the base of his neck. We were both sweaty and still naked, but I didn't care. I let myself fall into a deep sleep against Eddie, listening to his strong, steady heart beat. It was soothing. _I love this man. _I thought to myself as I began drifting away into the darkness of sleep.

That was the first dreamless sleep I had had since Spokane. No mason, No Isaiah, nothing. Just the silent nothingness of sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Darkness

**Authors Note:**

**Heyy all. So I hope this chapter doesn't seem too rushed. I didn't want the story to just drag on so I wanted to add some excitement into the story. I hope you all like it and I hope to read loads of reviews! - Raechel :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four:<strong>

I rolled over to find that Eddie wasn't lying where he had been last night, in fact he wasn't anywhere in the bed. I could hear muffled voices from the other side of my bedroom door and I was only able to make out a few sentences while I was getting dressed.

"We should tell her." I thought I heard Lev say.

"We are not going to wake her now. This is the best she's slept since god knows when. Just give her another hour or so. Please?" I heard Eddie persuade the others and decided to make it known that I was already up.

"Well there's no point waiting, because I'm already awake. What's going on?" I asked as I shut the door behind me. Eddie's smile became sympathetic as he walked over to me and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I'm sorry we woke you." He whispered into my ear. I gave him a look that communicated that it wasn't them that had woken me from my deep and happy sleep. He smiled back at me, as if to say he knew exactly what I was telling him. I don't know what it was, but Eddie and I always knew how to speak to each other without actually speaking to each other. I think it had something to do with how close we were, there wasn't anything either of us didn't know about the other. I turned to my team and saw their faces for the first time. They looked awful, their faces showed pain, anguish, regret, sadness and.. guilt maybe? Christian spoke first.

"Rose, there was a Strigoi attack on a club last night." I was shocked. Not only because of the news but also because I didn't think Strigoi would want to try anything like that with my team hunting them in this neighbourhood. They must have been either really brave or really stupid. Either one, we would make them pay for what they've done.

"How many did they kill?" I asked hesitantly, not really wanting to know the answer. Christian suddenly fell silent, which was not normal for him. I looked over to Eddie, knowing I would get an answer from him.

"They estimated that all up there were about seventy-four people in the club at the time of the attack. They found sixty-three bodies. None of which, were Strigoi." Eddie looked pained just speaking the words. My head started spinning, trying to wrap my head around all of the information just given to me. The Strigoi had killed sixty-three people, that was certain. No doubt they took the other eleven to either snack on later or turn into Strigoi, which I didn't know, but neither one of those outcomes was reassuring. All of the blood drained from my face, I could tell I looked ghostly pale.

"Where was this?" The only words that I was able to speak coherently. I needed to know all of the facts before I let the shock of it all overwhelm me.

"It was at Club Mint on the south-side of town. Rose, there was no way we could've known.." Tamara's words trailed off, knowing that consoling me wouldn't make it any better.

"They knew where we were." I said with complete confidence. The others just stared at me, confused. "There's no way they would attack a club when there might be a chance that we'd be there. They are monsters, but they're smart. The club we were at last night was on the other side of town, we'd run into eight Strigoi. If we had been at the Mint last night, no doubt those eight Strigoi we killed, would have attacked the club they were at. Who knows, they probably had groups of Strigoi at several clubs just waiting. Once they knew we were on the other side of town, they figured there was no way we would be able to get to them in time. They were sending a message." I had begun pacing back and forth in front of my team who had, by now, found seats around the apartment to process the things I had just told them.

"There's no way that eight Strigoi would be able to take out a whole club. They killed sixty-three people! There had to be more of them.." Artur exclaimed, unsure of his words.

"If there were any Guardians at the club, they would've taken them out first. The rest were defenseless against them. They probably locked them in somehow so no one could escape. It's a harsh reality I know, but how else do you explain it. They didn't do this for fun. Strigoi almost never band together like that. They did it because we're making a difference. We are killing tens of Strigoi every night and we've been doing this for two years. Haven't you noticed that the more and more Strigoi we run into are young and impulsive? They keep trying to expand their numbers but it's not working because young Strigoi are the easiest to kill." My breathing was heavy and I could tell I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I was so overwhelmed by anger and fear that I didn't know which was stronger. I quickly excused myself, knowing I had to stay strong in front of my team, and hastily walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I needed to get a handle on my emotions before I punched a hole in a wall or worse, one of my friends.

"One.. Two.. Three.. Four... Five. Just breath, Rose." I muttered to myself, allowing my breathing to become regular again. The ball of anger that had formed at the pit of my stomach was still there, but I could push it back far enough that I could no longer notice it.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Rose, it's me. Can I come in." His worried voice spoke from outside the bathroom. I didn't say anything, just unlocked the door, waiting for him to come in. He eyed me wearily as he walked in and shut the door behind him. I was now sitting on the edge of the bathtub as he took a seat next to me. I simply placed my hand on his and my head on his shoulder as tears began silently streaming down my face. Christian stroked my hair slowly, as he held me in a comforting embrace. Christian and I had become so close since leaving the Academy, him and Mia were my best friends, I would do anything for them. I finally found my voice, not wanting to speak louder then a whisper, afraid that it would crack and reveal how much this was killing me.

"We can't let them get away with this. Chris, it's not right." I spoke so softly I was afraid he hadn't heard me when he didn't reply right away.

"We won't let them." He simply said without hesitation or reservation. He simply squeezed my hand to reassure me. We stayed like that a while longer and as my tears finally stopped, I stood up to wash my face, not wanting the others to see that I had been crying. Although they probably had put two and two together by now. I didn't want them seeing me look like a mess even though they probably knew I was.

* * *

><p>It had been several weeks since that first club attack and there had been several attacks since. There was nothing we could do to prevent them. We never knew where the Strigoi would attack or when, and even if we did, it probably didn't matter because there would always be several more Strigoi waiting to attack other clubs. The frustration of it all was starting to get to me and my team. We felt helpless, guilty even. The only reason the Strigoi were doing this was because we had been killing off large numbers of them. We no longer only went as a team of six, now it was all eight of us just to be on the safe side. We were staking out another club, one further away from the middle of the town, just on the outskirts. We didn't know whether there would be Strigoi there or not, we were basically blind.<p>

I scanned the dance floor – Three Strigoi had there arms wrapped around women who had no doubt been compelled. I scanned the bar – Another three Strigoi fitting in quite well, but not to my eyes. I scanned the exits – Two Strigoi at both the front and the back exit. '_This isn't good' _I thought to myself. Ten Strigoi in one club could only mean one thing – An attack. As I scanned the club once more, making sure I hadn't missed any Strigoi I noticed something I hadn't before. There was a group of Moroi men sitting in a booth, I counted about three. When I looked closer, I noticed that there were Guardians around where they sat, four of them as far as I could tell.

"Guys, I count ten Strigoi, there may be more outside or close by. I'm positive that they're planning on attacking the club. They've blocked the exits. And guys.. I've also spotted three Moroi men with four Guardians. They seem unaware of how many Strigoi are in this place. This is going to get ugly real fast." I whispered into my earpiece, waiting for the responses of my team mates. All I heard was, _'Shit!' 'Fuck!' 'Son of a...!'_

"What do we do?" I heard Denis ask. I pondered it for a second, trying to come up with a plan.

"I'm going to let the Guardians know of the situation, hopefully without drawing the attention of the Strigoi. I don't want this to turn into a blood bath. I'm pretty sure the Strigoi would've been told to stick to the plan no matter what, so luring them outside isn't an option. We'll have to pick them off one by one. Wait till I give the signal and then move in. If they do spot me speaking to the Guardians, they'll attack. Be ready and be quick. I'm going to point them out to the Guardians." I gulped, not knowing how any of this was going to play out.

I sauntered over to where the three Moroi were and as I got closer, I was able to get a better look at their Guardians. They all looked the same, except one. He had brown, shoulder length hair that looked like silk, I immediately pictured running my fingers through it. Dark brown eyes that you could swim in and his tall stature did not deter from his amazingly built body. I shook my head as I realised I was checking him out. I had Eddie, who was perfect. Staring at this man was pointless.**  
><strong>As I neared the table, the Guardians glanced down at me, accessing whether or not I was a threat. They seemed satisfied that I wouldn't attack their charges. I was doing a good job at acting like a drunk Dhampir girl, looking for some fun. The Guardians tried to keep the looks of disgust off their face, unsuccessfully of course. They thought I was just another blood whore. Boy were they in for a surprise. I used my best man-eating smile as I sat next to one of the Moroi men. He was more built then most Moroi, with brown hair and green eyes and a dominance that didn't go unknown by the Moroi surrounding him. He looked at me and smiled, placing one arm around my shoulder as if he had known me for a long time.

"What's your name, little Dhampir?" I felt like slapping him in the face for calling me that, but I didn't have time to get annoyed at his patronizing tone. I simply smirked back at him.

"My name is Rose Hathaway and you're all about to be slaughtered." They all stopped and stared at me in shock, not knowing how to react. One of them actually looked to his Guardian for help. As the Guardians came up to me, about to drag me away, I told them what I had came to. "There are at least ten Strigoi in this place, There could be more waiting outside. If you think any of you are getting out without having to fight, you've got one thing coming to you." The Guardians halted, staring at me for a moment before scanning the club. As their eyes fell on each Strigoi, I saw their perfectly mastered Guardian masks falter. They hadn't seen the Strigoi enter the club, and they felt inadequate.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

The Strigoi must have noticed my little altercation with the Guardians and realised who I was. They started attacking the people in the club. It was complete chaos, people screaming and running around with their arms flailing about. My stake was already out and I had already started attacking the Strigoi. At one quick glance, I saw that all of my team were alive for the time being, fighting their own Strigoi. I was facing off against three of them. All of which had vicious smirks plastered on their faces, they knew exactly who I was.

"Well if it isn't the infamous Strigoi killer. We may not know your name, but we have been told a lot about you.. The way you look, the way you move and well, the way you smell. That kind of a scent is very distinctive." One Strigoi spoke as he eyed me cautiously. He was the eldest out of the three and definitely had some sort of control over the others. I simply smiled back, innocently, waiting for them to make their move. One of them decided he didn't want to wait, he was impatient and impulsive. I took him down within seconds. The second was a woman, not much older then me in fact. She landed a few good kicks to the side of my head and a jab to my hip before I was able to get her on her back and stake her. I wasn't dazed, though. The adrenaline was preventing me from feeling any pain. The third one, he was a lot different to the other two. He just waited until I had finished the other two off. He was staring at me intently, studying me. He almost looked curious. We were circling each other now. Me, in a defensive stance where as he, standing tall with his arms behind his back. He was old, very old. Which meant he was both smart and very fast.

"You are an amazing fighter. I've never seen a Guardian like you before." He stated with what I recognised as a Turkish accent.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not a Guardian. I don't have a Moroi charge for you to eat. Looks like you miss out." It was strange, over the two years of fighting Strigoi, this was the first almost civil conversation I had had with one since Isaiah in Spokane.

"You are an amazing fighter. Killing you would be such a waste of those skills." He ignored my comments and as I processed what he was saying, I realised what he meant by his words. He wanted to turn me. My expression turned to one of disgust.

"That's a great plan and all, but you'll have to kill me first. And trust me, that's never going to happen." I said with as much menace and classic Rose attitude as I could muster. I was scared, but there was no way I would let him see it. No more was said as he leaped toward me, fangs bared. I jumped into action, dodging and blocking his attacks. He had hit me a few times, once in the gut and another to my sternum, I could feel that at least two of ribs had been broken. I realised that through his several attacks, I wasn't able to take the offensive. I didn't like it. The anger I had been holding in for the last three weeks was rearing its ugly head, and for once I didn't bury it back down in me again. I let it overpower my whole being. I wasn't Rose Hathaway anymore. I was.. something else, something dark and twisted, almost like a Strigoi. I started fighting back. I pulled out circular elbow strikes, side knee strikes, Inside heel strikes, Roundhouse instep kicks and Vertical underfoot strikes. The Strigoi stumbled back several times, shocked that I was able to phase him at all. Before he could regain his balance and focus, I used a swiping circular leg strike, knocking him off his feet, forcing him to fall on his back. I pushed the stake into his heart and let his eyes go blank before removing it. The darkness I let in had dissipated, leaving me to be myself again.

I noticed that all the other Strigoi had been killed, there had been five more than I had counted originally but they had been taken care of as well, both by the Guardians and by my team. I had killed the majority of the Strigoi. I saw Eddie making his way over to me, making sure I was fine as he always did. I gave him a reassuring smile as I stood up.

"I'm fine, Ed. Stop worr-" I was cut short by the sharp pain in my abdomen. I keeled over, falling onto my knees on the ground. I placed my hands over my stomach where the pain was coming from and as I looked down I saw what was under my shaking hands.. blood, so much blood. It was then that I noticed the dagger the Strigoi was holding. I hadn't noticed it when he pulled it out. He must have stabbed me as I staked him, although I hadn't felt anything. I couldn't decipher Eddie's expression, although I could see the unease in his eyes.

"Oh god, Rose! Christian, call an ambulance we need to get her to a hospital!" I peered over at where my team mates stood. They all looked horrified, as if they couldn't believe the great Rose Hathaway had been injured. I had been hurt before, yes, but those were merely a few scratches and bruises, maybe a concussion every now and then, but nothing like this. I could feel my body going numb, getting weaker by the second as more and more of my blood spilled out onto the floor. I was trying to apply as much pressure to the wound as possible but there was so much blood. Eddie's hands were also at my wound, trying to stop the bleeding, there was too much blood.

"She needs to come with us." Said one of the Moroi whose name I hadn't known. Eddie looked up at him in disbelief.

"No, she needs to go to a hospital... She's dying!" Was I really? I didn't feel like I was dying. Although I didn't actually know what dying felt like. I just felt very sleepy. There was no pain from my wound, I guess I was in a state of shock. Eddie had his arms wrapped around me protectively.

"We know someone who can heal her." The Guardian I had been staring at earlier spoke up. He had a very thick Russian accent that matched his hair and long coat very well. I think it was called a duster. I looked up into his eyes as he came to kneel beside myself and my wonderful boyfriend. Eddie began to protest as the Guardian started pulling me into his arms but the man just told him to trust them. My eyes closed, although I wasn't unconscious. I was well aware of the strong arms carrying me and then being placed in what felt like the back seat of a car.

"Follow us in your car." I heard the Russian Guardian say to someone who I assumed was Eddie. He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before complying. I then heard the roar of the engine and as the car started moving, I began drifting off into unconsciousness only to be jolted back to reality by a strong voice.

"Hey, you need to stay awake, keep your eyes open.. Tell me your name." The voice asked as my eyes fluttered open. It was the Guardian who had carried me. My name? What was my name? It didn't come straight away, it took me a while to remember.

"My name is... Umm.. My name is.. I think it's.. Rose. Why, what's yours?" he was sitting beside me and I saw him chuckle. It was soft, but full of warmth.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov. Listen to me Roza. We are taking you to see someone. Someone who is going to heal you. I know it may not make much sense but your wounds will be completely healed. You just need to stay awake long enough, do you understand?" … "Roza, do you understand what I'm telling you?" I paused, a little confused. I looked up to him with that same look of confusion on my face.

"Yes, I understand but why do you keep calling me Roza? My name is Rose.. You know, with an S." I spoke with a pained voice, the shock was wearing off as the pain started to become more dominant. Dimitri chuckled once more as he explained to me that he was speaking my name in Russian. He hadn't meant to, it just sometimes happened because of his thick accent. "Where's Eddie?" I asked suddenly, frantically looking around. Not remembering where he was I started to panic.

"He is in the car behind us, don't worry you will be with him soon." I wasn't happy being apart from him, but I trusted Dimitri's words. "You were... Amazing." Dimitri half whispered. He saw my confused expression and elaborated on his comment. "In the club, I saw you fight. You killed those first two Strigoi in an instant, not once letting yourself get distracted. And the way you fought that last one... He was ancient, you know. I haven't seen one so old in a long time. And you killed him, easily. It was... Impressive." I was a little gobsmacked to be hearing those words leave a Guardians mouth. They didn't approve of Rogue 'unpromised' Dhampirs hunting down Strigoi, it wasn't the _'expected' _thing to do. Hearing Dimitri praise me without hesitation made me feel proud, like I had needed his approval, although I didn't even know the guy. I knew I was a total bad ass, but hearing it from someone who wasn't a part of my team felt... nice. I smiled to myself as the rest of the car trip fell silent.

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><p>I was dreaming, although it wasn't a normal dream really. I was pretty sure I was unconscious, although I couldn't remember how that had happened or where I was. I was in some sort of a maze. It was made out of hedges. Too tall for me to see over and too thick for me to see through. I was running through it looking for a way out but all I kept finding were dead-ends. To say that I was becoming frustrated was an understatement. I didn't know where I was or how to get out. I didn't like this feeling of being trapped. And then I started to notice a darkness spreading over everything. It was suffocating the daylight, making it shrink smaller and smaller until it was gone completely. All that was left was darkness. I was about to scream out for help when suddenly I got the weirdest sensation. It was like a wave of hot, then cold and then hot again rushing through my body. And then I blacked out.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Electricity

**Note:** **Heyy everyone, okayy so I know it's been ages since my last update and I am so sorry! But I had a busy Christmas/New Years and haven't really felt the inspiration to write, but my inspiration is back and I stayed up late writing this chapter for you all so I really hope you like it! I quite like this chapter so please please please review and let me know what you think. :) - Raechel**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five:<strong>

I woke up feeling groggy and stiff. It took a while for my eyes to adjust but when everything had finally come into focus I realised that I wasn't in my apartment. I jumped out of the bed I had been sleeping in and backed myself up against the wall, trying to remember how I had gotten here. My head was pounding but I decided to ignore that for the time being, I needed answers. I couldn't remember anything, the last thing I remembered was seeing ten Strigoi at a club the previous night. Had there been an attack? Had I been taken by the Strigoi? So many unanswered questions were running through my mind. I kept trying to remember but it was like there was a wall in my head physically stopping me from getting at my memories. It was a weird involuntary feeling that I didn't like one bit.

I surveyed my surroundings, Guardian mode kicking in. The room I was in was decorated to perfection, deep beige walls with burgundy wooden furniture that looked vintage, a beautiful wooden queen sized bed with a cream coloured, lace embellished quilt that looked like it had never been used. There were no posters on the walls but there were a few picture frames sprayed out randomly across the room with pictures of a couple I didn't recognise. There was a very warm, homey vibe being poured out from every corner of that room which made me decide that I had not been taken by Strigoi. They would keep me locked up in some sort of cold, emotionless basement, as they had done before. Although I still had no idea how I came to be in that room or who had brought me, I knew I needed to be ready for anything, even an attack.

The bedroom door began to open and I leapt into action. Stake or no stake, I would go down fighting as hard as I could. I jumped out at the man who had entered the room, not recognising him. I was just about to strike when I noticed that he wasn't Strigoi, he was a Dhampir. He looked me up and down, noticing my defensive stance and placed a tray of food down on the edge of the bed before lifting his hands in a gesture as if to say _'I'm not going to hurt you.' _

"Who the hell are you?" I asked incredulously. I had no recollection of ever meeting this man and I was not going to trust him until I knew exactly what was going on. He simply smiled sympathetically as he opened the bedroom door further and yelled out to someone.

"Hey, Eddie. I suggest you get in here!" Eddie, now that was I name I knew. Eddie came rushing in and when he saw me he almost froze in shock. I ran up to him and basically leapt into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. It felt good to see someone familiar. Eddie kissed me urgently, as if he had been afraid I was dead. The kiss started to become a little more intense and it wasn't for the clearing of a throat that we remembered we weren't alone. Eddie looked up to the man, who I assumed was a Guardian due to his dull clothing, who had come in with the food and nodded. I was still completely clueless. Eddie turned to me and sat me down on the end of the bed.

"Rose, you've been asleep for 57 hours." I was shocked. It hadn't felt like 57 hours, but then again time goes by quickly when you sleep. I hadn't had any dreams and I hadn't felt anything. I couldn't even remember how or why I'd fallen asleep. Had it really been 57 hours since that night at the club? It felt like it had only been last night.

"57 hours? What...? What happened to me?" The only conclusion I could come to was that I had been seriously injured somehow.

"You don't remember?" Eddie asked worriedly. I simply shook my head in response. Eddie began explaining everything to me then, knowing that the waiting was killing me. "Three nights ago we were staking out a club on the outskirts of Baia. Fifteen Strigoi attacked the club and you were stabbed in the stomach during the attack. We brought you here because Dimitri knew someone who could heal you. You were unconscious when we got you to her, which worried us all, but she tried healing you anyway. Physically your wounds were healed instantly but you hadn't woken up. Oksana said that it wasn't normal and you should have woken up almost immediately. We put you in this room just waiting for you to open your eyes. I'm so sorry for what happened Rose and I'm so happy you're okay." Eddie pulled me into a warm embrace. After he pulled away I decided to ask my questions.

"That's all great and all but two things, who is Dimitri and who the hell is Oksana?" Eddie looked at me confused. He didn't understand why I couldn't remember anything of what happened.

"This is Dimitri, he is the Guardian that brought you to Oksana, the woman who healed you." He stated as he motioned to the Guardian still hovering over us. So his name was Dimitri. His name matched his voice, his accent and his duster. He was definitely 100% Russian. I looked up to him and smiled as I nodded to him in thanks. He understood and smiled back. He had an amazing smile, it was very genuine, which I found a little odd coming from a Guardian. I was about to ask more questions about this 'Oksana' woman but then I remembered something.

"Everyone else? Mia, Tamara, Christian, Lev, Denis and Artur? Are they okay?" I needed to know my team was all safe, I would never forgive myself if any of them had been lost. Eddie simply placed his hand on mine in reassurance as he smiled at me. I knew what he meant. They were all alive and well. I was thankful for that.

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><p>"Rose!" Christian came running at me, if it weren't for him wrapping his arms around me I probably would have fallen over, I still felt a little weak, not mentioning the fact that I'd only been awake for a few hours. I squeezed Christian back as tight as I could manage without becoming exhausted instantly. It felt strange being so fragile, I could barely stand up straight let alone walk. It wasn't a physical exhaustion either, it was like I was mentally weak and my head was what was slowing me down. Each of my teammates walked up to me one by one, giving me thankful hugs, they had all been worried sick I could tell. A couple of them looked like they hadn't slept in days. I couldn't have asked for a better family.<p>

"God, Rose we were all so worried. When you didn't wake up, we thought- Oh god!" Mia mumbled through sobs, she really was the sister I never had. Christian was sitting next to her, trying to console her as best he could but anyone could see that even he was trying to hold back tears.

"Thank you everyone. You don't know how much I appreciate you all being here for me. I'm still trying to piece together everything that happened. Most of it has come back in flashes, nothing really solid. I barely remember the Strigoi attacking the club and I get flashes of the three Strigoi I was fighting. The only thing I remember properly is the stab wound and... the blood." I shivered involuntarily, remembering all of the blood that had been spilling out of me. My life had been pouring out onto the floor around me and I was helpless against it.

Eddie placed his arm around me when he noticed me shivering, although he knew it wasn't because I was cold.

"Rose, do you think we could talk?" Oksana asked once it was quiet. I nodded and we headed out into her back yard. Oksana, lived with her husband, Mark, the couple I now recognised as the ones in all the pictures. They lived in a small but warm house they had made into their home. Oksana was Moroi and Mark was Dhampir, which was something I was not familiar with. It wasn't that it wasn't allowed, more like it was looked down upon back at the Academy. I didn't really care, though. I could tell they were in love, like Eddie and me. I was happy for them.

As Oksana and I walked in silence a little while, we sat down on a bench in her garden. We stayed silent for a few more minutes before either one of us spoke.

"Thank you, Oksana. For what you did.. I can't tell you how grateful I am." I spoke in barely a whisper. Not wanting prying ears to hear. This was a conversation I wanted only to have with Oksana for the time being. She smiled and looked into my eyes with what I could only determine as sympathy.

"I wasn't sure you'd make it. When you hadn't woken up within the few hours that I healed you, I thought we'd lost you. You weren't breathing as far as we could tell and as for a pulse, being able to pick it up was rare and even then, it was faint. Eddie was... well he wasn't doing too good. He blamed himself, wouldn't talk to anyone the whole time you were asleep. He went off alone at night, came back with bruises and scratches all over his body, almost always covered in blood. Most of the time it wasn't his. When you woke up, though, it was like the light had come back into his life. He loves you." I was shocked to hear about what Eddie had done. I suppose I shouldn't have been. If anything had happened to him, I would probably do the same. Oksana looked at me knowingly, as if she knew what I was thinking.

"Oksana, how... How exactly did you heal me? As much as I know about the elements, healing was never a part of any of them." My curiosity got the best of me. I had to know how she did it.

"You only know of the four elements: Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. There is a fifth element. It's called Spirit and as it is so rare Moroi and Dhampir's forgot about it over the years. When someone specialised in spirit, everyone just assumed they hadn't specialised at all. There are many different things you can do with Spirit, I'm sure I can only do a tiny fraction of them. Healing, is one such thing. Another is that I can sort of read minds. It's limited, but when I reach out enough, I can touch someones mind. Like yours. I tried doing it while you were asleep, but I got nothing. Another thing that was worrying me. Look I know this is a lot to take in, so how about we take a break? I'm sure you're starving and Mark has cooked up something special for us all." Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Oksana decided we would talk more later. I couldn't lie, I was starving.

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><p>Dinner was amazing, a traditional Russian meal, and I loved every bite of it. It wasn't surprising though, I could eat anything. There was Pelmeni, Hachapuri, Salat Olivier, Bliny, Piroghi and my personal favourite, Black Bread. I had become accustomed to Russian food, as if it were nothing but Mark's cooking was exquisite. Every food he had prepared tasted better then the last and the Black Bread was the best of all, but I guess I was biased.<p>

"Mark, that was amazing! I don't think I've eaten this well in months! Maybe even years. Thank you so much for doing this!" I praised Mark as I started licking the little remains of my food off my plate. The whole table was staring at me, but I didn't care. "Oh come on, it would be a total waste! Plus I hadn't eaten anything in 57 hours. I think I should be allowed to indulge just a little." I simply said.

"A little? Rose, you had 4 helpings!" Christian scoffed. He loved to irritate me, but I could tell he was just glad I was alive, eating anything at all.

After dinner, Eddie excused himself, saying that he was exhausted and just wanted some sleep. I ran after him as he was walking up the stairs to our room.

"Hey, do you want some company?" I asked, not needing to give any more explanation of what I meant by _'company'. _He smirked at me and nodded as he took my hand and led me up the stairs. Before anything happened, however, I wanted to talk to Eddie about how he'd gone off, all vigilante like, on his own killing Strigoi of a night time while I was unconscious.

"Eddie, I think we should talk about this." Eddie looked at me nervously.

"Talk about what, beautiful?"

"Oksana told me about how you went off on your own while I was unconscious. Do you have any idea how stupid that was of you? What if you'd been hurt? Or worse, killed? If I'd woken up to find out you had gotten yourself killed, I would've been devastated! Eddie, I need you to be smarter than that. If I lost you.. I don't know what I'd do." I watched Eddie's face as he took every word I'd said in, processing it all before responding.

"Rose, I had lost you. Or at least I thought I had. Seeing you lying there, pale, motionless and so fragile, I honestly thought I was losing you. I know it wasn't smart, what I did, but I was so angry at them for doing this to you. I couldn't just sit around and watch you die. I needed them to die, I wanted them to suffer. But then.. you woke up, and I realised how reckless I had been. I should have been by your side every second. Luckily Dimitri promised me he wouldn't leave your side while I was out." I stopped myself short at that, not quite understanding what Eddie had just said.

"Hang on, Dimitri stayed with me every night? Every single night?" I know I probably should have responded to the other things Eddie was saying, but I needed to get something straight in my mind. Eddie looked at me a little confused.

"Yes, well every night that I went off to kill Strigoi anyway. Rose? You look troubled, what's up?" Eddie saw my puzzled expression, but I didn't quite know how to put it in words. Or even if I should. I was fixating on the fact that a man I barely knew, Dimitri, had stayed with me every night that my boyfriend left me. I was a little annoyed at Eddie for leaving me in the first place, but what Dimitri had done, for some unknown reason, was irritating me even more. I would have to look into it in the morning. I suddenly remembered why I had come upstairs with my boyfriend in the first place. And with that thought popping into my head, every thought of Dimitri had popped out.

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><p><em>'His fingers softly caressed my stomach, my hips, my breasts... His lips gently covered the base of my neck, leaving a trail of electric pulses across my jawline. Our lips met and it was if a fire had been ignited. Our tongues danced together as our hands explored each others bodies. He was so perfect. Every inch of him was muscular, powerful, godlike and sexy. He whispered my name against my lips through muffled moans, unable to control himself.<em>

"_Roza... Roza..." He repeated over and over again. I was in heaven. The feeling of his skin against mine was pure ecstasy. Electricity was running through my veins and into his, our bodies were one. I couldn't tell where I ended and he began, it was like we were made to fit together._

_"Oh god, Dimitri..." I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from being too loud, although I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs I was in so much pleasure. I loved this man completely.'_

I jerked my body upwards, gasping for air and sweating profusely. Had I really just had a sex dream about Dimitri? What the hell? I looked over at Eddie, hoping I hadn't woken him. When I saw that he was still fast asleep, I quietly got out of bed, put on a jumper, washed my face, went downstairs and out the back. I needed the cool night air to clear my senses. I couldn't wrap my mind around what had just taken place in my mind. Talk about a vivid and realistic dream. I started feeling guilty all of a sudden, I felt as though I had just cheated on Eddie. But I hadn't. Had I? I sat down on the swing chair that was on the back porch of Oksana and Mark's house as I let the cool wind whisper around me. I was in my Pajama shorts, Ugg boots and jumper, so I was able to deal with the cold. I heard someone step out the back door, and I didn't need to turn my head to know who it was. I knew that scent anywhere. It matched his personality just as much as his duster did.

"Is everything alright? I heard someone come downstairs. You do know what time it is right?" He looked at me with a genuine look of concern on his face. How could he care so much about someone he barely knew? He was wearing Track pants and a grey V-neck T-shirt. His hair was disheveled, confirming that he'd been in bed. Even though his hair was messy, though, he still looked perfectly handsome. Plus, the shirt he was wearing was doing wonders for his muscles. His perfectly sculpted, godlike muscles.

"Yeah I, uh, couldn't sleep. I didn't even look at the time actually. How late is it?" I couldn't look him in the eye, for fear that he would see right through my charade and know that I had dreamt about him. He smiled a small smile.

"More like early, it's Three in the morning. Why couldn't you sleep, bad dream?"

"Sorry for waking you up, you don't have to keep me company if you don't want to. Uhh, more like a strange dream."

"But I do want to..." It grew silent for a while, neither of us really knowing what to say next. It wasn't awkward, though. It was a comfortable silence.

"Eddie told me..." I blurted out without thinking, I hoped he didn't know what I was talking about, but like Eddie, he was able to read me like a book. He paused before speaking, smiling to himself more then me I thought.

"I didn't think it right to leave you alone. Especially when you could've woken up at any moment. I thought it would be nice to have someone there when you did. I'm sorry for scaring you when you did wake up. I had just gone out to get myself some breakfast and when I came back in, there you were ready to attack. Do you remember everything now?" I took in his words, realising how amazingly sweet they were. I wasn't quite sure what to make of them though, he was a Guardian and I usually didn't trust Guardians.

"Um, yeah I think so. I remember the Strigoi attacking, killing the first two and then the third one stabbing me as I was staking him. I remember all of the blood and then I remember the car ride on the way here.." I let my words trail off as I recall the things Dimitri had said to me in the car. He had told me that he had watched me fight and that I was amazing. I also remembered him calling me Roza. Thinking of that brought flashes of my dream back into my mind. My cheeks flushed pink as I remembered the feel of his lips against mine. God, what was I doing? I had an amazing boyfriend sleeping upstairs and here I was imagining what it would be like to kiss Dimitri's soft, perfect lips. Oh god, I really did need help. Dimitri watched me as I blushed, and then as I tried to cover it up. I couldn't decipher what he was thinking, although the expression on his face looked as if he had been thinking the same thing. Our eyes lingered on one anothers for what felt like hours. "Thank you.. For staying with me I mean. I really do appreciate it. Even if when waking up I couldn't remember you." I smiled, trying to defuse the sexual tension that I was definitely feeling between us. Dimitri smiled back, noticing my sincerity.

"You're welcome, Roza. I'd do it again in a heartbeat." There he went, being all sweet again, calling me by that blissful nickname that sent chills up my spine. He really did know how to make a girl feel special. I couldn't be near him anymore, I knew that if I stuck around, I would do something I would regret.

"I, uh, should probably go back to bed. I need to catch up on my sleep." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. As I began walking back inside, so did Dimitri and of course, we ended up colliding in the doorway, like a cliché moment in an old movie. Dimitri froze. I froze. Our faces were mere inches away from each other. All he had to do was close the space between us and I would finally know what it would feel like to kiss him. I took in a small gasp of air as I realised Dimitri was leaning in closer. Before our lips met, he stroked his fingers gently across my cheek, sending a wave of electricity to all the right places. _'This is wrong Rose! What about Eddie? He doesn't deserve this!' _my head was screaming at me, but I couldn't even comprehend it let alone act on what my mind was telling me because in that moment, Dimitri's lips touched mine.


	6. Chapter 6: Climax

**Note: Okayy so I know it's been a while since my last update but I hope you are all still with me here! :) I took a while on this chapter.. I wanted to make it a long one for you all. :) Now I am not entirely sure about the ratings of these stories and I know I've classified this story as rated M.. Can't remember what that means so I'm just going to warn you right now that this chapter has a couple of hot and heavy scenes in it.. And those scenes are a little more descriptive than I usually do. :D Plus there's a little bit of swearing aswell.. So if you are fairly young.. I suggest that you DON'T read this chapter.. Thanks! I hope you all like it and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! I want to know if you guys are actually enjoying this story. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six:<strong>

"Rose, is that you? What time is it?" Eddie woke up as I tried, unsuccessfully, to sneak back into our room.

"It's late. I'm sorry I woke you, I went downstairs for a glass of water. Go back to sleep, everything is alright." I reassured him as I faked a smile and kissed his cheek. Everything was definitely not alright. I had just kissed Dimitri. Well, technically he'd kissed me, but I couldn't deny that I kissed him back. As soon as our lips met it was like a physical force, pulling my body closer to his. I used to feel that when I kissed Eddie, but after I was stabbed, something was off. Like that chemistry with Eddie was somehow lacking. The kiss with Dimitri hadn't lasted very long, I pulled away almost immediately, letting my head take over.

_"No, stop. We can't do this. It's not fair to Eddie." I spoke almost breathless. I was up against the door frame as I pushed Dimitri away from me. His eyes were filled with hunger and lust, mine I'm sure, mirrored his. He stared into my eyes for a moment, I could tell he wanted to kiss me again, but his head must have also been telling him it was wrong._

"_I'm so sorry, Roza. I don't know what came over me. Please, forgive my actions. They are extremely out of character." I could see Dimitri's Guardian mask sneak its way into place as he rushed off and up the stairs in a hurry. I was left standing in the door way alone with my guilt ridden thoughts. 'How could you do that to Eddie? All he has ever done was love you and here you are practically throwing it back in his face! You have no idea what he went through after you were stabbed. You are so selfish!' My mind kept yelling at me over and over again. Tears started streaming down my face, they were right. I was being selfish. I had an amazing man waiting for me upstairs asleep, and all I could think about was a Guardian I barely knew. A Guardian.. Someone who couldn't have a real relationship even if they wanted to because they were sworn to protect the people I despised. I could not and would not have feelings for Dimitri Belikov._

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><p>"I'm going to miss you so much! I honestly can't thank you enough for giving me my life back Oksana. I promise we'll come visit when ever we get the chance! And I will be more careful when it comes to fighting Strigoi." I said my goodbyes to Oksana and Mark. Me and my team had overstayed our welcome, and we all felt a little weird not having fought Strigoi for so long. We'd been at Oksana's and Mark's for a little over three weeks and it was about time we got back to our lives.<p>

"It was nice to meet you Mark. It's refreshing to talk to a real adult after spending so much time with this lot of children." Eddie joked as he shook Mark's hand. We all knew we'd made some new friends that we would always care for. Eddie intertwined our fingers as we all got in our cars and drove away. It was just Eddie and I in one car and the others separated into two other cars. As we were driving back to our apartment several things came to mind. The first was Dimitri, it was always Dimitri who I thought of first. He had gone back to guarding his Moroi the day after we'd kissed and to be honest, I was relieved. I didn't tell Eddie or anyone else what had happened, I figured there was no point in putting strain on any of my relationships with my friends or with Eddie. After a week I finally convinced myself that it had been my brush with death that had messed with my emotions. Things with Eddie went back to normal, the chemistry that I thought we'd lost came back in full force and I went back to being head over heels in love with him. Even after weeks of not seeing him, my thoughts always brought up images of Dimitri – his lips, his eyes, his smile.. Everything and anything I could recall about him really. I needed to distract myself from thinking about Dimitri, so I let my mind wonder on to the next thing that had been whirling around up there... Spirit.

Over the few weeks I had been at Oksana's, we had many talks about Spirit, her powers and the after-effects of using those powers. She had explained to me that her compulsion abilities were far greater then any other element she had seen, which explained why all of my team and I had been taken by her the minute we laid eyes on her, and how we all hated saying goodbye to her. She talked more about her healing abilities and how she feels during and afterwards. She explained it as while she was healing someone, it was as if all of the happiness and joy in her life was building up in her body, giving her this amazing sensation of pure satisfaction, but then it would soon leave her body and flow into the person she was healing, leaving her feeling exhausted and as if she had just come down from a massive drug high, almost to the point of withdrawal where she would be craving more, saying that she always had this urge to use her abilities, almost as if she couldn't control it.

Another thing we had talked about was her bond with Mark. I still didn't quite understand how something like that was even possible, but then again, I lived in a world most humans couldn't imagine – Vampires and Dhampirs, Moroi and Strigoi. It would be too much for any human to comprehend. Oksana told me how she could always feel what Mark was feeling and hear what he was thinking, his emotions and thoughts would basically run parallel to hers, as if he was a part of her. Oksana had healed Mark a long time ago, like she did me, although Mark had actually been dead when she healed him. Oksana didn't fully know how the bond formed but she told me that her best guess was that when healing him from death, she had literally taken away a part of her own Spirit and placed it in Mark, leaving a part of herself within him. Which brought me to my next thought... Mark could see ghosts. In all my life, I never would have believed ghosts existed. Next we'd have gorgeously handsome werewolves that were almost permanently without a shirt and Vampires that sparkled in the sunlight. It was all too much for my mind to process without exploding! I decided to rid my mind of all thoughts Dimitri and Spirit. I looked over at Eddie and smiled to myself, he really was perfect. I was so lucky to have him in my life. Eddie saw me staring from the corner of his eye and smirked.

"What's up buttercup? You look... Giddy. I know I'm breathtakingly handsome and all, but giddy, really?" He chuckled to himself. I giggled alongside him.

"I can't help myself. You make me giddy Eddie Castile. I always feel like a silly little school girl with a crush when I'm around you." I spoke with a Southern accent, just for fun. I loved the light flirting Eddie and I always participated in. We got each other – It was as simple as that. And no matter what my feelings towards a certain Russian, I would always love Eddie.

"Well now... I was just about to say the same thing about you little Miss. For some reason you make me feel like a silly little school girl as well. I guess we are just a match made in heaven then." Eddie replied, mirroring my Southern accent. We continued flirting and laughing, making the car trip go a lot faster then expected. We stopped off a couple of times for petrol and food.

By the time we got back to the apartment it was almost nightfall, which meant we'd be hunting tonight. After having dinner, me and the girls started getting ready for our first night out hunting in three weeks. We were all anxious with excitement, we'd missed this life. Probably more then we should have. We were just about to leave when Denis spoke something none of us were expecting to hear.

"_Роза, ты уверен, что мы должны делать это сегодня? Я понимаю, что все мы хотим, чтобы отчаянно убивать стригоями после того, что случилось, мне особенно, но мы не обучены в течение трех недель и Роуз, вы чуть не умер. Я не говорю, что вы никогда не должны бороться стригоями опять же, я просто говорю, что, может быть, мы должнытренироваться в течение недели или два, прежде чем мы только что переход обратнотуда. Потому что я не знаю о всех вас, но я не хочу, что случилось в прошлый разповториться__."_ _**(Rose, are you sure we should be doing this tonight? I get it, we all want to desperately kill Strigoi after what's happened, me especially, but we haven't trained in over three weeks and Rose, you almost died. I'm not saying you should never fight Strigoi again, I'm just saying that maybe we need to train for a week or two before we just jump right back in there. Because I don't know about all of you, but I do not want what happened last time to happen again.) **_Denis was speaking in Russian, his English was excellent but sometimes his native tongue just came out involuntarily. We all understood him perfectly of course. After discussing it in length for several minutes I made a decision for all of us, I was technically the leader of the group, even though I hated that label.

"Okay guys, can we just settle down? Look, I know you probably won't like this but I think Denis is right. I don't think we need to train more, we are complete bad asses after all, but it couldn't hurt. I think we should be smart about this. Storming out into the city at night after doing nothing for three weeks... Probably not the best idea. Let's just lie low for a little while longer, until we've settled back in to our apartment and our old routine, okay?" I could tell that no one really liked that plan but they saw me as their boss so they just accepted my decision, no questions asked. Eddie made his way over to me, taking my hand in his before speaking.

"So that means, I've got you all to myself tonight, huh? Good. I can't wait to be back in our own bed." Eddie's tone was husky and seductive, I knew exactly what he had planned. My heart fluttered at the memory of his touch. We hadn't slept together since before Dimitri and I kissed. I told Eddie it was just because I'd felt strange since being stabbed, which was the truth. I was both anxious, nervous and a little cautious to get so intimate with Eddie after what had happened between Dimitri and I. I dismissed all thoughts of Dimitri and realised that I actually missed Eddie, physically. Our bodies had always understood each other completely, and that kind of understanding only came from real love. I wanted this. I wanted him. As everyone broke off to do their own thing inside the apartment, Eddie and I made our way upstairs. As soon as we were in our room and the door was locked behind us, Eddie pushed me up against the back of the door. It was forceful, but still gentle. I loved how strong and caring Eddie could be all at the same time.

"I have wanted to do this since you first woke up. I had to physically stop myself from jumping all over you when people were around. You have no idea what you do to me Rose." Clothes were being removed very swiftly, we both couldn't stand the anticipation. As soon as Eddie was down to his briefs and I was down to my bra and underwear we both paused, taking in each other. "God, you are so beautiful Rose. How did I get so lucky?" Eddie asked, more to himself then to me. I simply answered by placing my hand on his cheek.

"I love you, Eddie Castile. Always have, always will." Eddie looked in my eyes, and without speaking a single word, I knew he was telling me he loved me too. Words were then completely forgotten as Eddie pushed his body up against mine as I was still up against the back of the door. I could feel every inch of him. The rest of our clothing was removed as Eddie laid hundreds of sweet kisses from my jaw line to the base of my neck, sending shivers throughout my entire body. His hands wandered as we continued to kiss, lips caressing, tongues tasting, hands and fingers exploring... I lost myself in his touch. Eddie lifted me up into his arms as we made our way to our bed, not once breaking the kiss.

Eddie laid me down on the bed gently, hovering over me for a second, staring at me with pure admiration in his eyes. "You are exquisite Rose.." Eddie whispered into my ear. I smiled to myself, knowing that this man loved me completely. I never wanted to be apart from him. Eddie then resumed his kissing with much more hunger and determination. Neither of us wanted to wait any longer. He pushed himself hard against me, pushing himself inside of me at the same time. I bit my lip trying to stifle a moan, but my attempt failed as Eddie pushed harder once again. We both moaned as we continued to go faster, and our breathing became breathless. Hands knotting in hair, fingers digging in to skin, bodies moving together as one. Our moans became more constant as we both climbed and climbed. Reaching our climax at the same time was something that always excited me. One more hard push against me and we both released. Our pulse began to normalise, our breaths began to steady and we stayed there for what felt like hours just staring into each others eyes. Eddie began to pull out of me before I stopped him. I wanted more.

"No," I said breathless. Eddie was slightly confused. "Don't stop, I want to go again. I read that it's always better after the first orgasm." Eddie studied me, not knowing how to take what I had just said. He wasn't used to my usual abruptness being shown while we were in bed together. I saw the decision being made in his eyes right before he began thrusting slowly in and out of me again. We rolled over so that I was now on top straddling Eddie. He then lifted himself up so that we were both now sitting upwards, still moving together.

"Fuck, you were right." Was all Eddie was able to get out as he continued thrusting. Being Dhampirs, we had heightened everything. Which, for Eddie and I in that moment, meant that the sex was faster, harder and rougher than any human would be able to endure. It was like our animalistic instincts kicked in and we could no longer control ourselves.

I knotted my hand in Eddie's hair as we got closer and closer to finishing. His fingers were digging in to the skin at my thighs, I didn't mind it though. I loved that feeling.

"Jesus Eddie, who knew you were such an animal." I spoke breathlessly, barely able to put a sentence together. Eddie chuckled slightly before responding. Considering what we were doing right in that moment, it was a wonder how either one of us could form words.

"Me? Haha.. Rose, I'm getting this from you. Fuck, oh god!" I couldn't help but smirk at that comment.

"What can I say.. I've, ungh fuck.. missed you." Once again, words were forgotten as we both reached our climax, although unlike last time it was much more intense and... uh, satisfying. Yeah, that's one way of putting it. We both relaxed our bodies against each other as we continued breathing heavily. One thing I loved about being a Dhampir, was that our endurance level was insane. Eddie and I weren't even close to being exhausted. We laid down so that my leg was draped over half of Eddie's body. I rested my head on his chest, letting the _'thump thump thump'_ of his heartbeat soothe me.

"God, I've missed you Rose." Eddie whispered to me in the darkened room, it didn't matter though, there was enough light for our Dhampir eye sight. I was a little taken aback by Eddie's statement. I didn't quite know how to process it, even though I knew what he meant.

"I know. I'm sorry I was acting so strange while we were at Oksana's. I guess I was just all over the place, first with being stabbed, then the overwhelming news that Oksana had healed me, then spirit and bonding... The list is endless. I'm just glad to be back in our apartment, it feels normal again." I hadn't planned on saying so much, but I felt like I needed to explain myself to Eddie. Eddie of course, understood completely. Conversation drifted off as we fell asleep in each others arms, his heartbeat still strong and constant.

* * *

><p><em>I woke up feeling groggy and confused. I was in a bed with blood red silk sheets and as I looked around the room I noticed that the sheets weren't the only thing in that all too familiar colour. The curtains, the walls, the carpet, everything was blood red. I felt like I was swimming in it. As my eyes continued to search for something or someone familiar I noticed a man standing in the corner of the room, shadowed in darkness. I couldn't make out any of his facial features. All I could tell was that he was very tall and very muscular with shoulder length hair, it immediately clicked. <em>

"_Dimitri, is that you?" I asked through the darkness, wanting to hear the familiarity of his soft Russian accent. He took a couple of steps forward, allowing the moonlight to wash over his face, giving me a better look at him. He was even more beautiful than I remembered. Deep brown eyes I wanted to swim in, silky brown hair I longed to knot my fingers through, lusciously smooth, tanned skin I wished to touch and perfectly muscular arms and chest, not to mention the abs I desperately wanted to climb. Him not wearing a shirt was one of the first things I noticed. I saw him smile and it almost took my breathe away. _

"_Yes Roza, it's me. You sound surprised to see me. Do you not remember going to bed with me last night?" Dimitri almost seemed hurt by my forgetfulness. I had to reassure him immediately. _

"_Of course not. It just took a minute for it to come back to me. I did only just wake up. So are you going to leave me in this bed cold, alone and completely naked?" I could tell by the feel of the silk sheets on my skin that I had nothing else covering me. Dimitri couldn't help but let out a soft growl before his smile turned into a lustful smirk. He began to make his way over to the bed and just before he got there, he pulled the silk sheets down off the edge, revealing me in all my glory. I felt a little self-conscious, but those insecure thoughts were soon dismissed when I saw the way Dimitri was looking at me. His eyes went up and down my body as I saw him becoming harder and harder. He unconsciously licked his lips as he continued onto the bed and over towards me. _

_Dimitri hovered over me as he gently brushed the hair out of my face with the tips of his fingers. That one touch was all it took for electrical impulses to run though my entire body, localising to between my thighs in particular. My heart was pounding inside my chest as Dimitri removed his silk red pajama pants. He wasn't wearing any boxers or briefs underneath, and for the first time I got to see just how hard he was. Dimitri knotted one hand in my hair as we began kissing, the other moving to my hip, pulling me into him. _

"_Uh.. Oh god!" I couldn't help but let out as he entered me. "Fuck!" I moaned as I knotted one hand in his silky hair while the other was digging into his perfectly sculpted back. Dimitri began thrusting harder into me and I realised that being quiet was practically impossible at that point. _

"_Ungh.. Fuck, Roza." Dimitri groaned and moaned against my lips. He was in as much pleasure as I was. _

"_Faster.." I whispered into Dimitri's ear as he began to slow down. I didn't want him to go slow. I wanted him fast. He smiled and picked up the pace as I had asked, taking my right breast in his hand as his other made it's way to my leg which was securely wrapped around his waist. He briskly brushed his fingers over my already hardened nipple as we continued panting breathlessly together. The groaning had become more constant as we reached our climax and with one last hard thrust, we both let out a loud moan as my body trembled underneath this incredible man. We rolled onto our side, Dimitri still inside of me. I couldn't help the massive grin that had plastered itself on my face. That was the best sex I had ever had. Dimitri and I began kissing and before we knew it, it was becoming hot and heavy all over again but instead of having sex for a second time, Dimitri began kissing down to my neck, downwards to my breasts, taking both nipples into his mouth before making his way further down. He began kissing, licking and sucking the one spot that could drive me over the edge as he massaged my breasts, gently flicking my nipples with his fingertips.. I let my eyes roll back into my head as I arched my back upwards, giving Dimitri better access.. _

I looked down at the man currently in between my legs as I continued moaning in pleasure.. It took me a few seconds to realise that the man that was down there wasn't the sexy Russian I realised I'd just been dreaming about. It was Eddie. I'd just woken up in the middle of a dream with Dimitri to see that it was actually my reality with Eddie. Had I fallen asleep during sex? My mind lost all interest in my thoughts as Eddie hit the spot right on the nail and I began trembling with pleasure.

"Oh... Fuck!" I let out as I reached my climax. As my breathing became regular I realised how confused I was. "What..." I asked breathless, "Just happened?" Even if Eddie had no idea why I was confused, I needed answers. He looked up at me and smirked. That was not what I was expecting.

"You were having a dream. It must have been quite the dream because you were really getting into it. I woke up to find you touching yourself in your sleep, moaning and groaning. There was even a growl in there somewhere. I decided that I didn't just want to watch, so I joined in, knowing you'd wake up somewhere in the middle of all of that. Now tell me that that isn't the best way to wake up in the morning!" Eddie chuckled as he kissed me passionately. _Fuck _was all that came to mind. I had just been having a sex dream, a freaking amazing sex dream, about Dimitri and my boyfriend thought it was about him only to get in on the action and wake me up mid-orgasm with Dimitri. Had I just involuntarily cheated on my boyfriend? My mind must really love torturing me.


	7. Chapter 7: Conflicting Feelings

**Chapter Seven:**

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

I jerked upright, jumped out of bed and into a defensive stance, ready to fight – only to realise that I was startled by someone knocking on my door. I straightened myself up and walked over. The person I opened it to see startled me more then the knocking. There he was.. Standing in my bedroom door. And me, wearing nothing but a lacy singlet and underwear set. I hadn't even realised I was half naked. Dimitri was startled to see me like that, his guardian mask faltered as he took me in, he couldn't stop his eyes from moving their way down my body. I know I should've picked up my dressing gown and wrapped it around myself right away but I was frozen in that position, as if Dimitri's eyes had trapped me. I bit my lip not knowing what to say and apparently that was not a good idea because Dimitri growled softly, stepped inside, closed the door behind him, spun me around and pushed me against the door while he kissed me hard. If I were a human it would've been extremely painful, but for a Dhampir like me, it was more... erotic than anything else.

My breathing became staggered as Dimitri moved one hand underneath the back of my top. The feel of his skin was electrifying. It took my mind a few moments to catch up with my body before I realised that Eddie was asleep in the bed I just woke up from. I shoved Dimitri away as soon as I'd realised. I felt sick to my stomach, I felt it coming quickly enough to make it to the bathroom. I had nothing to bring up but bile, so that was exactly what came out. Eddie woke up to the sound of me throwing up in the bathroom, he didn't even notice Dimitri standing in the doorway with a worried look on his face. He rushed to my side, pulling my hair out of my face for me. This only made me feel even more sick. He was so good. After my stomach had finally stopped convulsing, I sat resting my back on the cold tiled wall of Eddie's and my bathroom. Dimitri was no where to be seen so my guess is he'd made himself scarce soon after Eddie had woken up. Eddie moved next to me and wrapped his arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Jesus Rose.. Are you alright?" Eddie asked with so much concern in his voice. What was I meant to say? No I certainly was not alright. I was cheating on my partner with some mystery man I barely knew who protected the people I despised. What was wrong with me?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." I tried to reassure Eddie unsuccessfully.

"Sure didn't sound like nothing.. Rose, you look deathly pale – are you sure everything's alright?" I knew I had to tell him something that would stop him worrying.

"What is this the Spanish Inquisition? I'm honestly fine Eddie, I must have eaten some bad Thai food last night. Thank you for worrying though, but I'm all good – no need for the interrogation officer, I'm innocent I swear!" I hoped my sarcasm would prove to Eddie that he didn't have to worry about me. He chuckled as he looked me up and down, surveying whether or not I'd throw up again.

"Alright, little Miss – you're free to go... For now." Eddie replied, falling for my little show. God I loved that man. He trusted me without fault and never questioned my judgment. I needed to set the records straight with Dimitri – nothing would ever come from our attraction, no matter how overpowering it was.

"Thanks Eddie. Now, I think I should get some proper food in me otherwise my stomach will start eating itself."

"Haha, that's my girl – always has an appetite. Lucky for you, Artur has cooked up an amazing breakfast for us all!" Eddie exclaimed, elated by the idea of a big breakfast.

* * *

><p>Needless to say, breakfast was awkward. Dimitri was still at our apartment, for what ever reason, and Tamara had invited him to stay for breakfast. To say that Tamara was into Dimitri would be a bit of an understatement – she was practically throwing herself all over him. I felt sorry for Tamara because it was obvious Dimitri had absolutely no interest in her at all.<p>

"So Dimitri, what brings you to our humble abode this morning? Not that I mind of course. You are a lot better to look at then this lot of dogs." Tamara asked seductively. I kind of felt sorry for the poor girl. Dimitri glanced over at me before answering and I felt my heart leap and my cheeks flush. How could this man have such an involuntary effect on my body. I bit my lip as I tried to look anywhere but in Dimitri's eyes, failing of course. As my eyes wondered back to his, I noticed that he was staring intently at me. His hand balled into a fist on the table. It looked like he was trying to stifle some sort of an emotion I couldn't read.

"I, uh.. Well, I..." Dimitri paused as he saw Eddie place his hand on the back of my neck, making circles with his fingertips over my skin. I reacted as I always do to Eddie's touch, slightly parting my lips as I breathed in and out shallowly, closing my eyes for a moment to regain my self-control. I looked over to Dimitri to see that the expression on his face had changed and he was no longer staring at me, but at Tamara. He had a seductive grin on his face and I could tell Tamara was just eating it up. "To be honest, Tamara, I came to see you. I've got the week off from guarding my charge and I wanted to get to know you a little better. You're an amazing fighter, the way you moved against the Strigoi that night... Incredible." Dimitri spoke in that soothing Russian accent of his, putting Tamara under his spell. Not once did he break eye contact with her. I couldn't believe him. Just two minutes ago he was completely disinterested in what she had to say and now it was like he couldn't get enough of her.

"Well then.. Why don't you come upstairs and I'll show you just how incredible I can be.." Tamara responded with an effortless charm. I had to hand it to her, she had moves. It was extremely irritating me that Dimitri was suddenly showing an interest in her. Tamara was so not his type. Suddenly I realised that I was having bitter thoughts about Tamara – a woman I saw as my sister. All this because of Dimitri, I was jealous that he was showing interest in someone who wasn't me.

Dimitri glanced back at me again before standing up, taking Tamara's hand and following her upstairs. There was no doubt that they were going up to her room. I had to swallow down the bile that was rising in my throat. I didn't like the sickening feeling I was getting.

"Wow, she sure doesn't waste her time does she?" Denis chuckled.

"Well the girls got moves! Plus, Dimitri is gorgeous.. She could do much worse!" Mia exclaimed. Christian snorted, not liking Mia's comment about Dimitri. Mia was right though, Dimitri was gorgeous. No girl would find him unattractive, he was every woman's type.

"I'm going to go have a shower." I wanted to get away from the conversation, I didn't want to think about what Tamara and Dimitri were doing in her bedroom. I walked upstairs and into my room where I picked up my towel. I walked past Tamara's bedroom on my way to the bathroom and I could here Tamara giggling. I wanted to be sick. I closed the bathroom door behind me, placed my towel on the rack and took off my clothes. I turned the water on, waiting for it to warm before getting in. My skin prickled as I let the warm water wash over my body, my muscles instantly relaxing. I hadn't realised how tense I was. I closed my eyes as I let all of my problems pour down the drain alongside the water. I stood under the water for what felt like hours. I was so relaxed I probably could've fallen asleep. And then he was there, in the shower.. With me. I felt his warm presence before I felt his arms around my body.

"Roza.. You are exquisite. You're all I think about you know.. Every day since I met you, this is all I want." Dimitri spoke so softly, so noone else in the apartment could hear. His lips were right at my ear, I could feel his breath on my skin. His hands, his gentle but strong hands were brushing the skin over my hips. My breathing halted and my mind was whirling. My body was screaming at me to turn around and look Dimitri in the eyes but my head knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to stop myself.

"Dimitri.. I can't.. This is wrong." My voice was staggered, I wasn't able to convince Dimitri, let alone myself. I wanted him. In that instant I had made a decision. I turned around, knowing exactly what I was going to do. What I saw shocked me. There was nothing. No one standing in the shower with me. No Dimitri. I had imagined the whole thing. "Oh god.." I muttered to myself.

* * *

><p>I had gotten everyone to gather in the living room as I had something to announce. Dimitri was still in our apartment and since Tamara was in the living room, so was he. I didn't care though, this didn't have anything to do with him. At least that's what I told myself.<p>

"What is it Rose? You look... scarily focused." Artur stated. He was right, I was focused. I realised that I needed to stop thinking about Dimitri, so what better way to do that than to start hunting again, channeling all of my thoughts into plans of attack. With all the free time my mind had nothing better to do than wander.

"Well, Artur. I've made a decision – we're going hunting. Tonight." Everyone's faces lit up as it sunk in, they would get to kill Strigoi tonight. I saw the smirk creep up on Christians face, he had been waiting for this since I woke up at Oksana's.

"Can Dimitri join us?" Tamara chimed in. "I remember seeing him fight at The Mint, he's amazing." She added, trying to convince the team, and me. I knew Dimitri would be an asset in a fight but I didn't want to see him while I was trying not to think about him. Dimitri saw the hesitation in my eyes as I was contemplating what my excuse for saying no would be. Luckily for me my friends spoke up first.

"Look, no offense Tamara but we don't know the guy and he doesn't know us. We've never trained together so we don't know his style and vice versa. I have no doubt that he's an amazing fighter, but having someone who isn't trained with our fighting style would be a liability not an asset." Denis stated matter-of-factly. He was right, thank god. I knew that if I didn't back him up, Tamara would fight him on it.

"Denis is right Tamara, this is our first night out fighting in a while and it would be better for us to be comfortable with who we fight alongside. We know each other, we know how everyone else thinks in this team. Why jeopardize that for a Guardian who you're infatuated with?" I hadn't meant to say what I did, I knew it was harsh but I hoped everyone would think it was because Dimitri was a Guardian and not because I was also infatuated with him. Tamara glared at me for a second before pouting, she knew she couldn't fight me on this. Lucky for me, Dimitri stayed quiet the whole time. I was afraid he would try and convince everyone he would be helpful in a fight, but for what ever reason he could read me like a book and knew that my expression was saying 'don't fuck with me right now'. And with me having the final say, everyone separated and began preparing for tonight.

* * *

><p>The music was pounding in my ears as I was swaying my body to the beat in the middle of the dance floor. I was dancing with my eyes closed as it made me seem more human and well, more drunk. I felt one come up behind me and place his hands on my hips, squeezing them tightly, preventing me from running away.<p>

"Вы, мой дорогой которые опьяняет. Я мог съесть вас." **(You, my dear are intoxicating. I could eat you up.) **The nausea had already set in before he came up to me, but it was worse when they spoke to me like I was a blood bag. This one would be fun I smirked to myself.

"Ну, то как насчет того, чтобы принять это где-то чуть больше частных .. и вы можете сделать то, что вы хотите меня?" **(Well, then how about we take this somewhere a little more private.. ****and you can do what ever you want to me?) **I gave him the best man-eating smile I could muster as I pulled his tie, leading him out the back. He grinned mischievously. Probably thinking this would be his easiest feed of the night. Boy did he have it coming. Rather than take me out the back alley though, he led me into the clubs bathroom which I found a little odd considering anyone could walk in on us. He locked the door behind us though, which meant my back up wouldn't be coming without making a racket and tipping the Strigoi off. I was on my own for this one. The Strigoi pushed me up against the wall as he leant in to kiss me, I obliged for the moment, so I would at least have the element of surprise when I attacked. If I was being completely honest the kiss was not unpleasant. The Strigoi was definitely Dhampir before turning which meant he would be a more advanced opponent. As we kissed I remembered the layout of the bathroom, planning the best form of attack in this small space. I had photographic memory so after surveying every inch when first walking in, I was able to calculate what the positives and negatives of the space would be and how I could use them to my advantage.

Suddenly the Strigoi had his hands around my neck, lifting me into the air so my feet were no longer touching the floor. He must have recognised me as a Dhampir and put two and two together about who I was although I had no idea how he could have, none of the Strigoi who have seen my face have ever survived in the past. I was careless, I lost focus for a millisecond which would cost me my life. There was no way out of the Strigoi's grip, it was too tight. I was losing my air supply and couldn't hold on much longer. I started waiving my arms, hitting, slapping, attempting to loosen his grip but with no avail. I was seeing black spots appear in my vision, I could see everything going blurry as the Strigoi's grin grew wider and wider as the life was dissipating from my body. I always knew a Strigoi would eventually kill me, but after surviving the stab wound I thought that I would go down a little more bad ass than this. I realised that this was it, my last breaths of life and I was helpless against it. No. Not Rose Hathaway – it'd be a cold day in hell when I let a Strigoi get the best of me again.

I mustered every ounce of strength and adrenaline I had left and brought my knee up causing it to collide straight with the Strigoi's chin. He stammered back and released me from his death grip as he tried to regain his balance. Before he could though I was at him with my stake, lunging it deep inside his chest not pulling out until I saw his eyes go dull. As he fell to the floor, I fell along with him gasping for air. I was coughing and sputtering trying to breathe in the cool air. It stung my lungs but it felt good to be able to breathe again. I pulled myself up so I could see the damage in the mirror. My neck was already purple and yellow, distinct bruising from where his hands were. I didn't have any make up with me so I pulled the collar up on my leather jacket, knowing that the darkness of the club would cover the rest of my neck.

* * *

><p>"Jesus Rose, are you insane? Why did you let him take you in to the bathroom instead of the back alley?" Christian interrogated.<p>

"Calm down, Christian. I didn't really have a choice. If I'd protested he would have realised something was up." Christian rolled his eyes at my response.

"How was he able to get his hands around your neck anyway?" Asked Tamara incredulously. I didn't like the idea of lying to my friends but what was I meant to say? I honestly had no idea what had happened myself.

"Look the bathroom was small and difficult to maneuver in. It was tricky but I still managed to kill the son-of-a-bitch okay, so can we drop it?" Everyone accepted my explanation and went to bed for the night.

"You coming to bed babe?" Asked Eddie. I nodded and told him I would be up shortly. I stayed downstairs for a while longer contemplating the events of the night. I had no idea how the Strigoi had made me or how I'd been so stupid to let myself almost be killed. Truth is, I'd never met a Strigoi that was so... human before. The way he touched me, the way he kissed. It was almost gentle. I let myself get lost in the kiss for one second too long and that second was all it took for the monster to get his hands around my neck. I screwed up. I let myself go for one moment and it almost cost me my life.

I was standing in the kitchen, looking at my reflection in the window. "Fuck Rose.. You almost died today." I said to my reflection. I started silently crying as the reality of it hit. I'd been so close to death more than once in a matter of weeks and I hadn't thought twice about it. I was so used to this life that the idea of dying didn't phase me at all. I was 20 years old, barely lived my life and I didn't care about dying.

"Rose... Are you okay?" I heard his voice from the darkness.

"Yes, Artur. I'm okay. Just a bit shaken up. You should get some sleep." I tried to reassure Artur, although he knew me too well to believe it.

"Look, Rose. I know you've had it tough over the last couple of months, I don't blame you for being upset. But you can't hide your emotions from us. We're your family and whether you like it or not we care about you. If something is going on with you we want you to talk to us about it. Not disregard it and act like everything's okay to our faces. You're like a sister to me Rose. I want you to know that I'm here. If you need me." Artur left it at that and went upstairs to bed. It was touching, knowing that I had so many people that cared so much about me. I still wasn't ready to go to bed so I began cleaning. I began with the living room, folding blankets and putting pillows in their rightful places. I soon moved on to the kitchen which needed more work. I wiped over the bench tops, unpacked the dishwasher and re-packed it with the dishes from dinner. I wasn't aware that someone was watching me until they spoke.

"You really are something.." I picked up his scent before I heard his thick Russian accent. I wasn't sure if I was imagining this or if he was actually in the kitchen talking to me, so I turned my head slightly to see if he was actually standing there. And, much to my dismay, he was – all godlike and stoic. He must have seen my tear stained face as his expression softened and quickly turned into worry.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, Dimitri. I'm fine, just a bit overwhelmed. You don't have to keep me company, I'm sure Tamara is wondering where you are." I couldn't control the distaste in my words. I was jealous and I didn't like it.

"You know Roza, nothing happened with Tamara. To be honest, I'm not interested in her. She's a great girl but she's not my type." Dimitri smirked. I could see the lust in his eyes as he stared intently into mine. My whole body was tingling, it's like Dimitri was undressing me with his eyes.

"How do you do that?" Dimitri looked at me, puzzled. "How do you do that to me. Every time you look at me, it's like my body goes into overdrive. It's very disconcerting." I didn't want to hide the truth anymore. Dimitri was the only one I could talk to about these feelings, seeming as they were about him. He smiled a genuine smile as he took my words in. He knew exactly what I was talking about because I had the same effect on him.

"I honestly don't have an answer for you Roza. Ever since I met you I haven't been able to control my thoughts. I think of you when I shouldn't. When I'm guarding my charge I think of you, your hair, your lips, your skin. I think of what it was like to kiss you and how it's the only thing in this world that brings me solace. Then I remember I'm on duty and should be focused on the job. That's why I took a week off, to figure my priorities out. I came here to see you. I didn't come with any expectations of course, I know you're with Eddie. I respect him and I know you love each other but I wanted to see you again. I thought that if I saw you with him it would make me realise that I couldn't have you. I hoped that it would knock some sense into me. But it hasn't. Even now, I'm resisting every urge in my body to take you into my arms. I've never been this kind of man, I've never wanted someone as much as I want you." My head was spinning, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Dimitri had just bared his heart to me and I had no idea what to say in return. Did I feel the same way? Could I have a future with Dimitri? What was I meant to say in return to something as sweet and honest as what he'd just exclaimed to me? _Shit Rose.. What the fuck are you going to do now? _Was all my mind could muster up. Dimitri stood there staring into my eyes looking for something, anything. He was looking at my soul, trying to see if I felt for him what he felt for me.

"Dimitri.. I won't deny that I have feelings for you, extremely powerful and overwhelming feelings. I have thought about you a lot over the last month, especially at the most inappropriate times," Recalling the sex dream I had, ending in sex with my boyfriend, "I am with Eddie, and I love him – more than anything in this world. I'm not quite sure how I feel about you. I barely know you. Thank you for all of those amazing things you just said, you won't ever know how much that means to me. But, like I said I am with Eddie and I do love him. I would never hurt him, Dimitri. That's why this, you and me, what ever _this _is, can never happen. I would love nothing more than to just do what I want but that would be reckless and it would hurt a lot of people. These people are my family and I won't let my feelings for you jeopardize that." I was satisfied with my response, it was after all completely honest. I did have strong feelings for Dimitri, but I loved Eddie unconditionally. I knew I had made the right decision.

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><p><strong>NOTE: Hi all, I am SO sorry that it has taken so long to update with the next chapter - long story short I had a full-time job and then I quit so I have a lot more time on my hands now, which means I will be writing a lot more for you guys. I am on the hunt for a new job but I really do want to finish this story and I know 7 chapters is no where near finished, you don't need to tell me that. I am winging this story, so I don't actually know how it's going to end or what will happen in the upcoming chapters, but if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them, I like drawing inspiration from everything and everyone. Please let me know what you think by reviewing! The more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to write! Thanks to everyone who has subscribed to this story so far and to all those that have sent in your reviews, I really appreciate it! :) - Raechel<strong>


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